PROFESS  6f 


KOFOIC 


THE     SHELLBACK 

or  At  Sea  in  the  'Sixties 


"THEN  THE  SKIPPER  TOOK  THE  YOKE  BOPE." 

Frontispiece. 


THE    SHELLBACK 


BY 


ALEX.  J.    BOYD 

J  i  % 


EDITED    BY 

ARCHIE  CAMPBELL 


WITH   AN 

INTRODUCTION    BY   MORGAN   ROBERTSON 


BRENTANO'S 

UNION  SQUARE,  NEW  YORK 
1899 


GIFT  OF 


•PROFESSOR  C,A,    KOFOID 


Copyright,  1899,  by 
BRENTANO'S 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION ix 

CONCERNING  THE  YARN-TELLER 1 

CHAPTER   I. 
WHICH  INTRODUCES  THE  '-ALTAMONT"         ....     9 

CHAPTER    II. 
A  SAILOR'S  SHANTEY 22 

CHAPTER    III. 
AT  SEA  UNDER  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES       .       .       .       .84 

CHAPTER   IV. 
WE  fcosE  OUR  FIBST  MATE 60 

CHAPTER   V. 
WE  SHIP  A  YANKEE  MATE 66 

CHAPTER   VI. 
A  TASTE  OP  THE  CAT 80 

CHAPTER    VII. 
"THE  ANCIENT  MARINER"     ...  ,95 


vi  CONTENDS. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
A  REIGN  OP  TEBBOB        .... 


HAQM 

.  108 


CHAPTER    IX. 
A  DASH  FOB  LIBEBTY      ....••••  12S 

CHAPTER    X. 
A  POOB  SEAMAN'S  TOBTUBE    .......  us 


CHAPTER    XI. 
THE  BLUE  PETEB  AT  LAST  !    .        .       •       •       •       •       •  164 

CHAPTER   XII. 
SHIP  ON  FIBE  !  ......        ....  186 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

"SHANGHAIED"  .........  204 

CHAPTER    XIV 
Ho  !  FOB  THE  STOBMY  HOBN  !        ......  225 

CHAPTER    XV 
A  "  PAMPEBO  "  OFF  THE  PLATE      .....        .245 

CHAPTER    XVI. 
THE  YANKEE  MATE         ........  264 

CHAPTER    XVII. 
THE  LAST  OF  POOB  BABNEY   .......  280 


CONTBNIS.  Vii 

NOTE    I. 

nun 

SHANTEYS" 304 

NOTE   IL 
STUNSAILS  (STUDDING  SAILS) 306 

NOTE   III. 
LOADLINE  :  THB  PLIMSOLL  MABK  ANTICIPATED  .       .       .807 

NOTE   IV. 
"THE  ANCIENT  MARINEB"  v.  AMEEICAN  CLIPPERS,     .       .  307 

NOTE   V. 
SEAMEN'S  PHILOSOPHY 308 

NOTE    VI. 

DANGERS  OF  COLLISION— PECULIAR  STATES  OF  THE  ATMO- 
SPHERE .  309 


APPENDIX. 

Sailing  Ship  and  Steamer— The  British  Tar :  Inveterate  Growler 
and  Potential  Hero — A  Typical  A. B.— Life  and  Work  at  Sea- 
Punishments — Sea  Bullies — Hazing — Euchred  ! — Amusements 
—A  Gale  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay— The  Wreck  of  the  Gothenburg 
— A  Gruesome  Salvage 311 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


"THEN  THE  SKIPPEB  TOOK  THE  YOKE-HOPE 


"CAPTAIN  BABTON  WAS  A  MOST  DELIGHTFUL  MAN"  To  face  p.  10 

"  '  DO  I  LOOK  AS  IF  I  COULD  CHAW  YOU  UP  ? '  "    ,             „  74 

"SHE  BOUNDED  THE  BUOY  .  .  .  AND  CAME  IN  A  WINNEB  "  H  104 

"TWO  BEVOLVEB  SHOTS  BANG  OUT"         ...             „  200 

"ALL  PAY  LONG  SHE  FLEW  BEFOBE  IT"          .         .             „  252 

"  THE  VBBY  DEEP  DID  BOT  " „  256 

"'Hi!    BOYS!    GIVE  THIS  BCOWBANKEB  HIS  ANSWEB?  "     „  294 


INTRODTICTION. 


FEW  who  have  not  felt  the  hot  flush  of  shame  and 
helpless  resentment  arising  from  unnamable  insult — 
who  have  not  known  the  conflict  of  hunger  and  shiver- 
ing disgust  incident  to  the  eating  of  putrid  food — who 
have  not  been  beaten,  starved,  deprived  of  sleep,  and 
hounded  at  useless  work  until  self-respect  and  man- 
hood become  abstractions — in  short,  few  besides  slaves, 
Siberian  exiles  and  merchant  sailors — who  know  the 
possibilities  in  human  savagery — may  read  this  book 
without  doubting  the  author's  veracity — without  won- 
dering if  the  atrocious  torture  described  herein  could 
ever  have  been  inflicted  under  the  American  flag,  by 
Americans,  upon  men  of  their  own  race  and  language. 

To  answer  and  forestall  such  doubt  and  wonder,  this 
introduction  is  written  ;  and  it  is  written  by  one  who 
knows — one  who  will  carry  to  his  grave  scars  of  brass- 
knuckles  and  belaying-pins,  who  will  suffer  to  the  end 
from  the  ineradicable  taint  in  his  veins  of  scurvy, 
whose  stature  has  been  shortened  by  torturing  labor  in 
childhood,  whose  soul  will  be  held  while  he  lives  by  a 
hatred  of  oppression  and  tyranny  born,  not  merely  of 


xii  THE  SHELLBACK. 

altruistic  sympathy,  but  of  his  own  suffering  ;  and  in 
this  lies  his  desire  to  speak  and  his  claim  to  considera- 
tion. 

It  is  a  pity  that  this  book  is  not  written  up  to  date 
— that  it  cannot  tell  of  the  Hellship  of  to-day  as  it  does 
of  the  Hellship  of  the  sixties ;  for,  since  that  time 
matters  have  not  improved.  Flogging  has  been 
abolished  by  law,  but  the  knuckle-duster,  the  belaying- 
pin,  the  heaver  and  the  handspike  remain.  The 
quality  and  the  quantity  of  provisions  have  improved 
— on  the  statute  books,  but  scurvy-ships  still  come 
into  port  with  men  in  their  forecastles  swollen  and  foul 
with  disease  loathsome  as  leprosy,  and  men,  broken 
and  disfigured  for  life,  who  seek  redress  in  courts  that 
will  not  convict.  To-day,  thirty  years  after  the  period 
of  which  this  book  speaks,  the  terms  Yankeeship  and 
Hellship  are  synonymous,  and  the  lofty,  graceful, 
beautiful  triumph  of  the  ship-builder's  art,  which 
carries  the  Stars  and  Stripes  to  all  ports  of  the  earth, 
is  avoided  and  feared  by  the  sailors  of  all  nations  as 
the  worse  found,  worse  manned  vessel  that  floats,  and 
is  known — to  those  who  know — as  the  theater  of  in- 
human barbarity  that  can  not  be  paralleled  in  the 
regime  of  any  Oriental  despot  now  alive.  An  intel- 
ligent sailor  signs  in  an  American  deep-water  ship 
only  when  compelled  by  circumstances,  and  quits  her 
when  he  can,  often  at  the  risk  of  his  life  by  swim- 


INTRODUCTION.  xiii 

ming,  always  at  the  certainty  of  imprisonment  if 
caught,  and  the  sacrifice  of  wages  due. 

Leaving  aside  legal  possibilities,  which,  under  the 
existing  methods  of  procedure  are  futile,  the  question 
naturally  arises,  why  do  men  in  the  majority  submit  to 
such  terrible  minority  rule.  Why  may  not  this  ques- 
tion be  settled  by  those  involved  instead  of  becoming 
a  problem  for  the  attention  of  law-makers  and  re- 
formers ?  Why  must  twenty  men  living  in  the  for- 
ward end  of  a  ship  submit  to  the  tyranny  of  a  quarter 
of  their  number  who  live  in  the  after  end  ? 

The  reason  is  hidden  and  but  partly  shown  in  the 
iron-hard  traditions  of  sea-faring,  which  date  from  the 
days  of  the  Phoenician  galleys,  when  the  only  sailors 
were  slaves,  who  pulled  at  their  oars  until  they  died, 
and  were  then — as  has  been  said — chopped  in  pieces 
and  passed  out  the  port-holes.  These  traditions  de- 
scended through  the  ages  of  militant  seamanship,  when 
sailors  were  armed  to  fight  an  enemy  and  hanged  from 
the  yard-arm  for  disobedience  of  orders.  They  are 
in  full  force  to-day  in  the  navies  of  the  world,  and 
an  insubordinate,  or  deserting  man-of-war's-man  is 
punished  with  the  severity  accorded  to  criminals. 
These  traditions  reach  to  the  merchant  marine,  and  a 
sailor  who  wishes  to  quit  work  may  do  so  only  at  the 
loss  of  the  money  due  him,  and  in  a  foreign  port,  at 
the  risk  of  imprisonment  as  a  malefactor. 


xiv  THE  SHELLBACK. 

Thus  we  have  masters  and  mates  of  merchant  ships 
to-day  who  seem  to  regard  their  positions  as  sacred  by 
divine  right — as  though  the  divinity  of  kings  sur- 
rounded and  protected  them.  They  may  insult  a  seaman, 
with  an  insult  that  would  bring  them  instant  death  in  a 
border  town,  and  should  the  seaman  protest  he  invites 
an  authorized  blow.  Should  he  return  this,  or  attempt 
to,  he  is  a  mutineer  ;  and  mutineers  may  be  shot,  and 
the  murder  is  sanctioned  by  the  law  of  a  free  country. 

So  much  for  the  ethical  reason  of  a  sailor's  submis- 
sion to  minority  rule.  But,  strong  as  it  is,  there  is  a 
stronger  behind  it — the  sailor  is  practically  at  a  physi- 
cal disadvantage.  In  a  crew  of  twenty  men  there  are 
not  usually  as  many  as  four  who  are  of  equal  size, 
courage,  and  intelligence,  to  the  weakest  of  the  after- 
guard ;  for  this  is  always  attended  to  in  the  picking  of 
the  crew.  Sheath-knives  are  confiscated,  or  the  points 
are  broken  off,  when  the  crew  joins  the  ship,  while  the 
mates  regard  revolvers  as  tools  of  their  trade,  and  the 
captain  puts  strong  faith  in  double-barreled  shot-guns 
loaded  with  buck-shot.  Belaying-pins  are  free  for  all, 
but  these  will  not  prevail  against  an  equal  number  on 
the  other  side  ;  and  a  crew,  marching  aft  to  arbitrate 
with  the  captain,  must  face  this  battery  of  powder  and 
shot,  and  may  also  be  cheered  by  the  sight  of  the  car- 
penter flourishing  his  broad-axe,  and  the  appearance  of 
the  cook  and  steward  carrying  buckets  of  scalding 


IN  TROD  UC  TION.  XV 

water  and  dippers  with  which  to  scatter  it.  Truly,  a 
strike  at  sea  is  a  serious  proposition. 

Were  American  ships  manned  by  native-born  Amer- 
ican sailors,  they  could  do  much,  far  short  of  mutiny, 
to  exact  consideration  from  captains  and  mates ;  but 
they  are  not.  There  are  few  American  sailors  afloat ;  so, 
partly  from  necessity,  partly  from  the  captain's  choice, 
the  forecastle  of  an  out-bound  American  ship  is  filled 
with  a  mixed  crew,  hardly  any  three  of  which  are  of  the 
same  nationality.  And  this  is  the  crew  that  is  wanted. 
Let  the  sea  ports  be  canvassed  and  a  crew  gathered 
together — the  best  of  able  seamen,  strong,  sober,  intel- 
ligent, respectful  and  self-respecting  men — and  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  an  American  shipmaster  would  refuse 
them  if  they  were  all  of  one  nationality.  The  reason 
is  plain  —  he  could  not  safely  illtreat  them,  and  he 
would  not  dare  the  experiment  of  treating  them  well. 
It  is  the  cowardice  of  despotism. 

But,  provided  he  has  able  officers  to  "  lick  them  into 
shape,"  he  will  not  hesitate  to  take  his  valuable  ship 
and  cargo  to  sea  with  a  heterogeneous  crew,  repre- 
senting the  maritime  nations  of  the  earth,  among 
whom  only  a  few  may  speak  English,  and  carefully 
chosen  by  himself  or  the  crimps,  not  for  their  sea- 
manly  qualities,  but  for  their  weaknesses  —  their 
under-development,  stupid  faces  and  diverse  nation- 
ality ;  for  he  knows  that  this  crew  will  be  too  occupied 


xvi  THE  SHELLBACK. 


with  mutual  spites  and  jealousies  to  combine  and  resist 
oppression. 

Now,  for  the  other  end  of  the  physical  equation.  In 
England,  where  sailors  are  protected,  an  educational 
qualification  is  demanded,  and  before  a  sailor  may  sign 
as  an  officer  he  must  pass  an  examination  and  receive  a 
certificate.  But  in  American  ships,  when  considera- 
tions of  friendship  or  family  relationship  do  not  con- 
tribute, a  sailor  is  promoted  for  the  breadth  of  his 
shoulders  and  the  size  of  his  fist.  Any  able  seaman 
can  do  a  third,  or  second-mate's  work,  and,  already 
brutalized  by  illtreatment,  he  remains  so,  and  pays 
his  debt  of  tyranny  to  those  beneath  him.  He  may 
learn  enough  of  navigation  to  eventually  command  a 
ship,  but  he  cannot  escape  the  traditions  which  made 
him  a  brute,  and  he  does  his  share  toward  perpetuating 
them. 

And  he  is  conscientious  in  his  savagery  —  he  thinks 
he  is  right  ;  and  if  remonstrated  with  by  passenger 
or  other  humane  onlooker,  his  pained  amazement 
would  be  ludicrous,  were  it  not  so  abhorrent  ;  for, 
though  lie  may  be  naturally  the  kindest  of  men  in  his 
dealings  on  shore,  —  a  lover  of  children  and  animals  — 
he  cannot  comprehend  that  a  number  of  human  beings 
living  in  a  forecastle,  who  are  employed  merely  to 
handle  a  ship  and  keep  her  in  repair,  may  be  held  at 
work  without  insult  and  cruelty.  The  terrible  eti- 


INTRODUCTION.  xvii 

quette  of  the  slave  galley  grips  his  soul  and  limits  his 
understanding. 

Is  there  a  remedy  ?     Yes,  several,  but 
power  of  one  generation  to  apply. 

England  is  solving  the  problem  by  educating  her 
officers ;  but  an  educational  standard,  such  a  she 
requires  of  second  mates,  suddenly  enforced  in  this 
country,  would  disqualify  most  commanders  and  offi- 
cers of  American  sailing  ships.  For  it  is  generally 
conceded  that  very  few  of  them  can  do  more  than 
take  meridian  observations  and  find  longitude  by 
chronometer  sights. 

Were  the  laws  now  on  our  statute  books  rigidly 
enforced,  a  large  majority  of  American  captains  and 
mates  would  be  sent  to  the  penitentiary,  and  not  a 
few  to  the  gallows  or  electric  chair. 

These  two  remedies  would  paraylze  our  small,  but 
growing  commerce,  and  no  thinking,  observing  man 
may  hope  for  their  application.  The  vast  moneyed 
interest  at  stake  would  rise  up  and  forbid  it. 

A  law  directed  at  the  fountain-head — the  ship-own- 
er's pocket — would  work  wonders  of  reform,  if  it  could 
be  passed  and  enforced  ;  but  if  our  courts  will  not  pro- 
tect a  sailor  from  torture,  starvation  and  murder,  how 
may  he  hope  to  obtain  damages  1 

"We  must  wait.  The  establishment  in  every  seaport 
of  echoolships — and,  in  view  of  our  coming  commerce 


xviii  THE  SHELLBACK. 

this  will  be  found  necessary — where  boys  may  be  taught 
seamanship  and  navigation  without  becoming  dehum- 
anized by  suffering,  and  the  extension  of  the  cadet 
system  now  in  force  aboard  mail  steamers,  will  in 
time,  as  the  present  generation  of  brutes  die  off  or 
retire,  place  upon  our  quarter-decks  officers  who  have 
no  debt  to  pay,  and  fill  our  forecastles  with  men  who 
have  none  to  acquire.  This  will  eliminate  the  Hell- 
ship. 

And  there  are  some  of  those  who  know — some  of 
those  who  may  read  this  volume  without  wonder  and 
doubt — who  are  looking  forward  in  the  bitterness  of 
their  souls  to  a  more  certain  remedy — the  final  abolition 
of  the  sailing  ship.  For,  surely  as  the  American 
sailor  is  being  driven  from  the  sea  because  unfitted  to 
survive  in  a  slave's  environment,  so  surely  must  the 
sailing  ship  disappear  in  the  competition  with  steam. 

MOEGAN   EOBEBTSON. 


THE    SHELLBACK 

OR 

AT  SEA  IN  THE  'SIXTIES 


CONCERNING     THE     YARN-TELLER. 

"  WHAT  a  glorious  nig^t ! " 

I  think  if  the  most  fastidious  admirer  of  noc- 
turnal beauty  could  have  stepped  out  on  the 
"  Blythswood "  verandah  overlooking  the  Brisbane 
River  that  summer  night  he  could  hardly  have 
helped  echoing  the  exclamation. 

The  day  had  been  hot,  but  now  the  evening 
breeze  came  gently  sighing  up  the  river,  fanning 
our  heated  cheeks  and  serving  to  keep  off  the 
mosquitoes,  whose  attentions  might  otherwise  have 
been  too  engrossing  to  be  pleasant.  The  moon 
shone  brightly  overhead,  bathing  the  whole  land- 
scape in  a  shimmering  liquid,  silvery  light,  which 
cannot  be  described,  but  requires  to  be  seen  to 
be  appreciated. 


SHELLBACK* 

The  broad  path  that  led  down  past  the  race- 
course to  the  river  gleamed  in  a  bold  outline  of 
white  till  lost  in  the  distance,  where  it  turned 
off  on  either  hand  to  Breakfast  Creek  or  the 
Hamilton;  and  the  shadows  cast  by  the  fences, 
trees,  and  houses  were  sharp  and  distinct  as 
cameos  cut  in  ebony. 

It  was  a  glorious  night ;  such  as  often  suc- 
ceeds the  torrid  day  in  Queensland,  when,  fatigued 
by  the  fervid  heat,  we  are  glad,  as  evening  falls, 
to  rest  on  the  broad  verandah,  too  listless  to  read, 
and,  lacking  energy  to  go  into  the  heated  rooms 
and  make  music,  we  prefer  to  listen  to  the  musical 
plash  of  the  little  waves  which  the  gentle  night- 
wind  now  and  again  wafts  up  from  the  river 
below,  and  pass  the  time  "  yarning/'  as  we  say  in 
Australia,  in  the  complete  enjoyment  of  the 
dolce  far  niente.  This  evening  we  were,  as 
usual,  all  sitting  out  on  the  verandah,  enjoying 
the  luxury  for  the  first  time  in  fourteen  hours 
or  so  of  feeling  comparatively  cool,  and  the 
visitor  who  had  made  the  natural  but  not 
startlingly  original  remark  which  begins  this  chapter 
was  my  old  chum  Alec  Boyd,  who  had  dropped  in 
from  Nundah  for  his  customary  pipe  and  chat. 

I  fancy  only  those  who  have  had  a  consider- 
able acquaintance  with  rolling  stones  can  ever 


CONCERNING  THE  YARN-TELLER.  3 

have  met  such  a  thorough  and  interesting  specimen 
of  the  genus.  For  my  part,  I  rather  like  rolling 
stones,  for  though  they  may  gather  no  moss,  in 
the  sense  of  this  world's  gear,  for  their  own 
especial  benefit,  yet  they  contrive  to  wind  round 
them  many  a  strand  of  quaint  experience  and 
adventure  which  they  occasionally  unroll  for  the 
benefit  of  their  friends. 

Who  that  ever  has  seen  Boyd's  erect,  military 
figure,  with  the  unconscious  swagger  of  a  heavy 
dragoon,  the  keen  blue  eye,  with  the  humorous 
twinkle  in  the  corner  of  it,  the  long  tawny 
moustache,  which,  like  the  Berserker  of  old,  he 
might  (at  a  pinch,  or  rather  at  a  stretch)  have 
tied  at  the  back  of  his  head — could  ever  forget 
him?  Not  I,  i'  faith,  nor  any  of  his  friends! 
He  was  by  way  of  being  a  Scotsman,  and  would 
have  been  one  quite  if  his  mother  had  thought 
fit  to  give  him  birth  in  the  land  of  his  fore- 
fathers; but,  judging  by  the  number  of  languages 
he  knew,  he  must  have  first  seen  the  light  some- 
where on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  been  brought 
up  all  over  it,  drawing  them  in  by  inspiration 
with  his  mother's  milk — that  is,  if  anything  so 
mild  ever  passed  his  lips.  If  Scots  he  were 
(and  I  hae  ma  doots,  for  his  accent  in  speaking 
the  Doric  smacked  somewhat  of  the  South,  as  if 


4  THE  SHELLBACK. 

he  had  picked  it  up  by  observation,  not  by  intui- 
tion), he  had  dropped  most  of  the  national 
characteristics  when  he  crossed  the  line,  for  he 
was  as  open-handed,  open-hearted,  impulsive,  incau- 
tious an  individual  as  you  would  wish  to  meet  in 
a  summer  day. 

The  British  army  is  believed  to  be  capable  of 
going  anywhere  and  doing  anything,  but  Boyd 
"goes  one  better,"  for  he  already  has  been  every- 
where and  done  everything — except  make  a  fortune! 
I  have  known  him  in  several  different  capacities 
myself.  He  was  a  sugar  planter  once,  then  a 
miner,  a  squatter,  a  Government  agent  on  board 
a  labour  vessel  in  the  Pacific,  a  newspaper  editor, 
a  school  inspector,  and  a  "dominie" — all  these 
parts  and  many  more,  from  super  to  leading 
gentleman,  has  old  Boyd  played  in  the  comedy  ot 
life;  but  I  have  not  the  playbills  by  me,  and 
cannot  remember  them  every  one. 

But  besides  all  that  he  has  been,  he  is  a  major 
in  the  local  artillery,  a  contributor  to  the  illus- 
trated papers,  a  writer  for  the  press,  a  leading 
light  in  the  Koyal  Geographical  Society,  an 
authority  on  botany  and  geology,  and  last,  but 
not  least,  one  of  the  buttresses  of  the  Johnsonian 
Club,  our  representative  of  Bohemia  in  Brisbane. 

How  he   has    managed   it   all    chronologically  I 


CONCERNING  THE  YARN-TELLER.  5 

cannot  imagine,  for  he  is  only  in  the  early  fifties, 
and  where  he  got  his  education,  and  when,  I  am  at 
a  loss  to  conceive,  for  he  speaks  fluently  French, 
Italian,  and  German  (not  to  say  anything  about 
Welsh),  while  in  mathematics  he  is  such  a  pro- 
ficient that  I  am  credibly  informed  he  wrote  a 
key  to  the  first  four  books  of  Euclid  before  he 
was  twelve  years  old. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  he  was,  or  rather  is,  a 
thoroughly  interesting  companion,  and  he  and  I, 
waifs  and  strays  in  the  dry  and  thirsty  land  of 
Queensland,  naturally  "collogued,"  and  enjoyed 
talking  about  experiences  we  had  had  in  the  great 
world  beyond  before  we  had  drifted  into  the  intel- 
lectual eddy  which  now  held  us  in  its  circling  thrall. 

Boyd  had  been  so  many  things  that  if  he  had 
announced  that  he  once  had  been  a  dancing 
master  it  would  have  occasioned  me  no  surprise; 
so  when  on  this  particular  night  he  informed  me 
that  he  had  served  his  time  at  sea,  it  appeared  to 
me  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world,  though 
it  added  one  more  difficulty  to  the  chronological 
puzzle.  It  came  about  in  this  wise.  Down  in  the 
river  which  ran  at  our  feet,  anchored  bow  and 
stern  in  the  Bulimba  reach,  lay  the  Jelunga,  a 
huge  steamer  of  the  British  India  fleet.  She  had 
touched  the  ground  and  been  compelled  to  lie 


6  THE  SHELLBACK. 

up  till  the  flood  tide  came.  Just  behind  her, 
also  moored  in  the  river — because  the  leviathan 
blocked  the  way — lay  a  fine  American  clipper 
ship,  whose  tall  spars  seemed  to  scrape  the  skies, 
and  whose  rigging  in  bewildering  yet  harmonious 
profusion  of  outline  was  sharply  defined  in  the 
bright  moonlight. 

"  Ah ! "  cried  Boyd,  "  look  upon  this  picture  and 
on  that;  see  that  ugly  iron  steam  tank  along- 
side of  a  Yankee  clipper!  Why,  the  one  is  an 
eyesore  to  an  old  sailor,  and  the  other  a  picture/1 

"Yes,"  said  I,  "that  may  be  true  enough  from 
the  old  sailor's  point  of  view,  but  where's  the 
old  sailor?" 

"Why,"  said  he,  "here  he  is.  Would  you  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  I  served  my  time  at  sea, 
and  on  board  of  a  Yankee  ship  into  the  bargain?" 

"  My  dear  boy,"  replied  I  apologetically,  "  if  you 
told  me  that  you  had  discovered  Australia  with 
Captain  Cook  it  wouldn't  surprise  me  in  the  least, 
and  what's  more,  I  would  believe  you !  Go  ahead, 
old  man,  out  with  it.  I  see  you  are  dying  to  tell 
us  a  yarn." 

"Aisy  there  now,"  whispered  old  Morris.  "Don't 
ye  see  he's  coming  about  ? — and  if  ye  disturb  him 
you'll  make  him  miss  stays.  Let  him  get  full  on 
the  port  tack,  with  plenty  of  sea  room,  and  I'll 


CONCERNING^  THE  YARN-TELLER.  7 

be  bound  he'll  spin  ye  a  yarn  from  here  to 
Melbourne." 

"  All  right,"  said  I,  "  the  night  is  young  yet : 
it's  too  hot  to  sleep — stand  by/' 

And  we  did  stand  by.  Morris  silently  filled  the 
erapty  tumbler  which  stood  adjacent  to  our  friend, 
while  I  unobtrusively  passed  him  a  plug  of  "  ruby 
twist,"  and  after  Boyd  had  fairly  set  a-going  his 
second  pipe  he  disburdened  himself  of  his  tale  of 
the  sea,  which  will  be  found  in  the  following  pages. 

When  he  had  finished  it,  it  seemed  to  us, 
sitting  there  on  the  verandah  looking  out  on  the 
peaceful  scene,  as  if  it  were  quite  impossible  that 
in  this  year  of  grace  such  terrible  cruelties 
could  be  enacted  as  had  been  witnessed  by  our 
friend  on  board  of  the  Altamont.  He  assured  us, 
however,  that  it  was  by  no  means  impossible, 
though  very  much  less  frequent  than  thirty  years 
ago.  Indeed,  only  a  year  or  so  before  there  had 
come  into  the  quiet  river  which  lay  at  our  feet  a 
ship  on  whose  deck  scenes  as  tragic,  cruelties  as 
great,  had  been  actually  proved  to  have  occurred. 

I  have  not  put  the  tale  before  my  readers 
quite  in  the  sequence  in  which  it  was  told.  Much 
interesting  information  about  a  sailor's  work  and 
life,  many  picturesque  reminiscences  of  peril  and 
adventure,  and  many  sage  reflections  useful  to 


8  THE  SHELLBACK. 

those  who  might  be  contemplating  "going  down  to 
the  sea  in  ships"  in  a  professional  way,  had  been 
interwoven  with  it. 

But  as  this  might  interest  only  a  certain 
number  of  readers,  I  have  thought  it  better  not 
to  interfere  with  the  even  flow  of  the  "yarn," 
which  I  am  sure  will  interest  all,  and  have  relegated 
this  extraneous  matter  to  the  notes  and  appendix, 
where  it  will  be  easily  available  for  all  who  wish 
to  read  it. 

My  fair  readers  who  may  not  care  for  technical 
details  will  find  that  in  the  first  part  I  have  done 
their  skipping  for  them,  but  I  hope  some  of  them 
may  have  sufficient  interest  in  the  life  of  "poor 
Jack  "  to  follow  him  into  the  succeeding  pages,  and 
enough  curiosity  to  take  a  peep  into  the  "sailor's 
parlour." 

There  the  adventurous  will  hear  many  a  thrilling 
yarn  to  repay  them  for  their  trouble,  but  the 
ladies  must  do  the  skipping  for  themselves,  for 
with  the  yarn  proper  my  task  as  editor  ends. 

A-  C. 


CHAPTER   1 

WHICH    INTRODUCES    THE    "  ALTAMONT." 

WHY  I  went  to  sea  as  a  sailor  I  can  hardly 
say.  Perhaps  it  was  because  I  always  loved  the 
sea,  and  ships  and  sailors;  perhaps  I  wished  to 
see  more  of  the  world.  There  was  no  other  reason. 
I  was  well  off,  and,  for  a  lad,  had  a  good  income. 
Only  a  fortnight  previously  I  had  refused  to  go 
home  in  a  P.  and  0.  steamer  with  my  brother, 
who  was  returning  to  England  with  his  bride.  A 
few  days  after  he  had  left,  I  strolled  into  his  office 
in  Melbourne,  where  I  was  employed  as  clerk.  I 
had  had  a  long  trip  up  the  country  beyond  the 
Murray  into  the  New  South  Wales  territory,  and 
had  just  received  a  letter  from  home,  urging  my 
return,  as  it  was  imperative  that  I  should  get 
ready  as  soon  as  possible  for  the  Army  examina- 
tion. All  my  ancestors,  from  Macbeth  downwards, 
having  been  men  of  the  sword,  it  was  only  natural 
that  I  should  follow  suit. 

Well,  there  was  plenty  of  time  for  that,  as  I 
was  already  well  educated  for  my  age,  so  I  decided 
to  look  about  me  a  little  before  settling  down  to 
garrison  life. 


io  THE  SHELLBACK. 

When  I  first  entered  the  office  I  had  happened 
to  meet  a  very  genial  ship- cap  tain  named  Hawkins. 
He  was  about  to  sail  for  London  with  a  cargo  of 
wool,  tallow,  hides,  bones,  and  rags,  when  his  ship 
took  fire  at  the  Williamstown  Pier,  and  was  burnt 
to  the  water's  edge. 

I  had  several  talks  with  him  about  a  seafaring 
life,  and  had  half  a  mind  to  try  it  under  his 
auspices;  but  the  destruction  of  his  ship  put  an 
end  to  that  scheme.  A  day  or  two  afterwards  I 
met  another  captain,  whose  ship,  the  Altamont, 
had  also  been  consigned  to  my  brother's  house. 
He  was  ready  to  sail,  and  was  fixing  up  the  last 
of  his  crew,  and  as  names  did  not  so  much  matter  so 
long  as  he  had  the  men,  some  of  the  clerks'  namdfe 
were  put  down,  and  mine  amongst  the  number. 

This  Captain  Barton  was  a  most  delightful  man. 
I  had  a  long  talk  with  him,  and  the  upshot  was 
that  I  declared  myself  willing  to  sign  "  articles " 
and  go  with  him  if  he  would  take  me.  He  con- 
sented at  once. 

"  I  want  another  lad  aft,"  he  said,  "  and  you 
seem  just  the  cut  of  a  sailor.  So,  if  you  like  to 
go,  you'll  get  two  pounds  a  month,  and  you'll  learn 
seamanship  and  navigation  with  the  other  lads. 
There  is  a  cabin  aft  all  to  yourselves,  so  you  won't 
be  amongst  the  crew.  I  don't  like  my  boys  to 


"  CAPTAIN    BARTON    WAS    A    MOST    DELIGHTFUL    MAN." 


WHICH  INTRODUCES  THE  "ALTAMONT"       11 

get  too  much  among  the  men.  They  learn  a  lot 
of  bad  language;  and  instead  of  working  steadily 
with  a  view  to  commanding  a  ship  some  day,  they 
lie  about  the  forecastle  listening  to  the  lying  yams 
of  the  old  hands,  and  so  get  unfitted  to  be  placed 
in  any  position  of  responsibility.  My  boys  are 
gentlemen's  sons,  and  I  like  to  treat  them  as  such. 
Now,  I  sail  in  three  days  for  Callao,  from  there  to 
the  Chincha  Islands,  load  up  with  guano,  and  then 
home  to  Cork  for  orders.  So  it's  all  settled,  eh? 
You  be  aboard  with  your  chest  to-morrow,  and,  if 
you  do  your  duty  properly,  I'll  look  after  you,  and 
you'll  have  a  good  time  of  it," 

I  assured  him  I  would  not  fail  to  make  my 
appearance  at  the  appointed  time.  When  he  went 
away,  I  fell  to  dreaming  of  what  was  before  me. 
There  was  a  chance  thrown  in  my  way  of  seeing 
the  world.  Callao,  Lima,  Peru,  Chili,  the  Andes, 
and  all  the  other  glorious  places  on  the  Pacific 
slope  of  South  America  of  which  I  had  only  read 
— I  expected  to  visit  them  all,  and  only  longed 
for  the  eventful  day  to  come.  The  three  intervening 
days  (for  I  afterwards  arranged  to  remain  on  shore 
till  the  last  moment)  I  spent  in  getting  together  what 
I  considered  to  be  a  correct  seaman's  outfit,  not 
forgetting  an  immense  waterproof  coat  which  reached 
to  my  heels — a  garment  very  serviceable  on  shore, 


12  THE  SHELLBACK. 

but,  as  I  afterwards  found,  very  inconvenient  at 
sea,  at  least  for  a  sailor  who  was  neither  captain 
nor  officer. 

On  the  third  day  I  said  good-bye  to  my  friends 
in  Melbourne,  and,  hiring  a  boat  at  the  pier,  was 
pulled  off  to  the  ship.  As  I  drew  near  to  her,  she 
seemed  a  perfect  monster.  Being  in  ballast,  she 
floated  very  high  and  looked  also  a  great  deal  larger 
than  I  afterwards  found  her  to  be. 

The  boatman  having  hooked  on  to  the  ladder,  or, 
rather,  gangway  plank,  I  went  up  and  got  on  deck, 
my  portmanteau  being  hoisted  on  board  by  a 
couple  of  the  men.  I  had  not  brought  a  sea-chest, 
as  the  leather  convenience  was  very  large,  new,  and 
stiff,  and  would  hold  as  many  clothes  as  were 
needed  for  a  sailor  for  a  year  or  two. 

Now,  although  I  could  not  at  that  time  have 
given  a  description  of  the  ship,  I  may  as  well 
do  it  in  this  place,  so  that  I  may  avoid  repeti- 
tion hereafter. 

She  was  a  full-rigged,  flush-decked  wooden 
ship  of  1,720  tons  register,  carrying  a  main  royal 
She  was  very  heavily  sparred,  with  double  topsail 
yards.  Aft  there  was  a  roomy  wheelhouse,  on 
each  side  of  which  were  the  berths  of  the  mate 
and  second  mate.  Amidships  was  the  cook's 
galley,  and  forward  the  forecastle  or  "  seamen's 


WHICH  INTRODUCES  THE  " ALTAMONT"      13 

parlour,"  as  the  inert  called  it,  to  which  access  was 
obtained  by  a  hatchway  in  the  deck. 

The  decks  were  beautifully  clean  and  white, 
and  the  brasswork,  of  which  there  was  a  great 
quantity,  glittered  like  gold. 

Having  gazed  about  me  in  a  sort  of  hopeless 
way,  wondering  whether  I  would  ever  be  able  to 
muster  courage  to  climb  as  high  as  the  royal  yard, 
which  looked  to  be  about  two  hundred  feet  from 
the  deck  I  got  back  to  the  after-gangway  and 
found  that  my  portmanteau  had  been  removed 
during  my  absence.  A  couple  of  sailors  were 
coming  .  up  from  below,  and  one  of  them,  jerking 
his  head  towards  me,  remarked  that  "  he  s'posed 
I  was  the  Johnny  as  owned  the  leather  bag." 

Just  then  somebody  in  shirt  sleeves  roared  out 
an  unintelligible  order  —  unintelligible  to  me  at 
least — and  the  two  men,  being  joined  by  another, 
began  to  haul  on  a  rope,  already  hauled  so 
tight  that  it  seemed  as  if  another  pull  would 
part  it. 

One  of  them,  a  great,  big,  burly-looking  fellow, 
with  a  plug  of  tobacco  in  his  mouth,  told  me  to 
"  tail  on "  to  the  end  of  the  rope,  and  pass  it 
through  the  snatch  block.  I  understood  the 
meaning  of  "  tailing  on "  well  enough,  but  as  to 
the  "snatch  block"  I  was,  metaphorically  speaking, 


14  THR  SHELLBACK. 

"  all  at  sea,"  so  I  concluded  to  treat  the  big  fellow 
with  silent  contempt. 

As  I  moved  off  to  the  side  of  the  ship,  I  heard 
him  say :  "  Oh !  here's  Lord  Bugagee  come  aboard 
at  last!" 

I  paid  no  attention  to  the  sarcasm,  but,  seeing  a 
shore  boat  alongside,  I  hailed  it,  and  was  just  going 
down  the  gangway  plank,  intending  to  take  a  run 
on  shore  and  make  some  purchases,  when  the  man 
in  the  shirt  sleeves  sang  out : 

"  Hillo  !  young  shaver  !  Where  are  you  off  to  ? " 

"  Oh  !  Just  going  ashore  for  an  hour  or  two," 
I  said. 

"  Ho — you  are  ?  And  may  I  ask  who  gave 
you  leave  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"  Who  gave  me  leave  ? "  I  echoed.  "  Why, 
nobody.  Can't  I  go  ashore  when  I  please  ? " 

"  Go  when  you  please !  "  ejaculated  he  of  the 
shirt  sleeves. .  "  Well  !  this  is  a  rum  start.  Why 
d my  eyes,  do  you  know  who  I  am  ? " 

"  I  suppose  you're  one  of  the  sailors,"  I  said 
carelessly,  "and  you  are  not  remarkable  for  civility 
or  choice  language.  Good-morning." 

I  was  about  to  pass  him  and  get  into  the  boat, 
when  he  took  me  by  the  collar  and  pulled  me  inboard. 

"  Now  jest  you  listen  here,  my  lad,"  he  said. 
"  I've  been  told  by  the  captain  that  he's  taken 


WHICH  INTRODUCES  THE  "ALTAMONT."       15 

you  aboard  this  ship,  and  he   also  told    me  that 

you  were  a  d young  scapegrace,  that    spends 

money  faster  than  honest  men  can  earn  it.  (God 
help  me  !  That's  true  as  regards  myself)."  This 
was  a  sort  of  "  aside,"  and  I  afterwards  found 
that  he  had  a  remarkable  habit  of  interpolating 
remarks,  which  he  supposed  to  be  only  heard  by 
himself.  "Do  you  know,"  he  went  on,  "  that  you're 
on  the  articles,  signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  (and 

a  sight  too  nice  a  lad  to  be  here).    You're  no 

longer  your  own  master.  When  you  want  so  much 
as  to  scratch  your  head,  you've  got  to  ask  leave, 
let  alone  going  ashore.  (What  the  fool  wanted  to 
leave  it  for  beats  my  going  to  sea.)  And  you've 
got  to  ask  leave  of  the  Almighty,  and  that's  me 
aboard  this  here  ship.  Do  you  know  what  a  mate 
is  —  a  chief  officer  ?  I'm  the  mate  —  I,  John 
Dickens  (and  a  softer  idiot  never  scraped  a  royal 
mast).  I'm  everything  here,  when  the  'old  man' 
ain't  aboard.  Now,  can  you  take  that  in,  eh — or 
do  you  want  it  rubbed  in  ? " 

"  Pheugh ! "  I  blew  a  long  sotto  voce  whistle. 
"  I  have  put  my  foot  in  it  now,"  I  said  to  myself. 
The  chief  officer !  The  first  lieutenant  (as  I  should 
then  have  called  him),  and  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  too ! 
No  epaulettes,  not  even  a  brass  button  !  How  the 
deuce  was  I  to  know  him  from  a  common  sailor, 


1 6  THE  SHELLBACK:. 

especially  as  his  hands  were  hard  and  horny,  and 
his  fingers  more  crooked  -than  those  of  a  navvy. 

He  noticed  my  astonishment  at  the  appearance 
of  the  vice-captain,  and  replied  to  my  looks  : 

"  Ah,  my  lad,  I  see  you  reckon  I  ought  to  be 
marled  in  a  blue  coat  and  brass  fixin's,  kid  gloves, 
and  an  eye-glass,  with  a  tall  complexioned  hat  and 

a  '  d n  my  eyes '  necktie,  don't  you  ?  Wait  a 

bit.  When  you've  been  a  dog-watch  at  sea,  you  11 
know  different." 

I  was  naturally  very  polite,  and  as  I  fancied  I 
could  detect  a  kindly  twinkle  in  the  old  fellow's  eye, 
I  feared  I  had  hurt  his  feelings  by  supposing  him 
to  be  a  common  sailor,  so  I  said  I  was  very  sorry, 
and  now  I  knew  one  part  of  my  duty,  would  he 
mind  letting  me  go  ashore  for  an  hour  or  two  ? 

He  at  once  gave  the  required  consent,  and 
suggested  that  if  I  tapped  my  relative's  stores  and 
brought  off  a  few  bottles  of  good  brandy  to  pay  my 
footing  when  introduced  to  my  future  messmates 
hi  the  boys'  berth,  it  would  do  me  no  harm. 

I  promised  to  attend  to  this  important  matter, 
and,  getting  into  the  boat,  was  on  shore  in  a  few 
minutes. 

I  must  say  I  felt  rather  proud  of  belonging  to 
that  big  ship,  as  I  turned  to  look  at  her  from  the 
pier.  My  only  regret  lay  in  the  fact  that,  despite 


WHICH  INTRODUCES  THE  "ALTAMONT"       17 

her  size,  she  was  only  a  merchant  ship  after  all, 
and  her  mate  wore  no  coat  or  waistcoat,  and  had 
dirty  hands.  However,  I  was  soon  up  in  Melbourne 
at  the  warehouse,  busy  routing  out  some  more 
clothes,  some  tobacco,  and  the  brandy.  Laden  with 
these  stores,  I  hastened  to  Williamstown,  and  at  the 
pier  found  a  ship's  boat  "manned"  by  three  boys. 
Two  of  these  I  had  noticed  on  board  the  Altamont, 
so  I  asked  them  if  they  would  pull  me  on  board. 
They  said  they  did  not  dare  to  leave  the  steps, 
as  they  had  been  sent  to  wait  for  the  captain ;  but 
they  advised  me  to  get  aboard  at  once,  so  that  the 
"  old  man "  might  not  see  the  medical  comforts  I 
was  so  unblushingly  carrying. 

On  my  saying  that  the  "  old  man  "  had  suggested 
my  bringing  them,  they  laughed  and  told  me  that 
the  captain  was  always  called  the  "  old  man,"  adding 
that  they  would  assist  at  a  jollification  when  they 
got  aboard.  I  took  their  advice  and  went  off  in 
another  boat.  ,. 

The  mate,  who  was  on  the  look-out  for  me,  now 
took  me  in  charge.  He  first  led  me  below  and 
showed  me  the  boys'  berth,  which  was  a  very  roomy 
cabin  aft.  There  were  four  separate  cabins  in  it, 
occupied  by  the  four  boys,  the  third  mate, 
boatswain,  and  carpenter.  In  the  centre  was  a  fair- 
sized  dining-room,  through  which  passed  the  lower 
0 


1 8  THE  SHELLBACK, 

portion  of  the  inizzen-mast.  There  was  plenty  of 
light  from  a  skylight  overhead  and  from  the  com- 
panion way.  A  scuttle-butt  stood  at  the  foot  of  the 
ladder,  containing  our  allowance  of  fresh  water,  and, 
as  the  mate  said,  it  was  splendid  water,  especially  if 
something  were  added  to  it  to  take  off  the  taste. 

This  very  broad  hint  was  not  thrown  away 
upon  me.  I  produced  a  bottle  of  brandy,  Mr. 
Dickens  brought  forth  a  corkscrew,  and  the  bottle 
was  duly  sampled.  We  drank  each  other's  health 
and  rapidly  became  very  good  friends.  He  told  me 
all  he  knew  about  the  skipper,  which  was  not  much, 
as  he  had  only  been  a  fortnight  on  board,  having 
shipped  in  Melbourne.  He  had  an  idea  that  at  sea 
the  captain  would  prove  a  bit  of  a  bully.  Even  in 
port,  he  was  constantly  growling  and  swearing  at  his 
officers  and  men.  I  was  rather  surprised  at  this,  as 
he  had  been  so  particularly  affable  and  genial  to 
me  at  my  brother's  office. 

"Yes,  my  boy,"  said  the  mate,  "but  once  we 
lift  anchor,  there'll  be  no  more  sherry  and  sandwiches 
and  swell  dinners  at  the  consignee's  expense,  and  the 
consignee's  relative — poor  devil! — will  soon  find  the 
difference.  Besides,  he's  not  the  regular  skipper 
of  the  Altamont.  The  old  skipper's  laid  up  in  New 
York,  and  our  friend's  only  got  her  for  this  voyage, 
and  you  bet  it  will  be  a  long  one,  'specially  as  we're 


WHICH  INTRODUCES  THE  "  ALTAMONT"       19 

bound  for  Callao.  '  More  days,  more  dollars '  will  be 
the  old  man's  motto  this  trip.  (What  an  old  fool  I 
am  to  be  telling  this  to  this  boy!)  Now,  lad,  I'm 
off.  Keep  your  weather  eye  lifted.  Do  all  you're 
told  without  a  grunt,  even  if  it's  to  clean  out  the 
old  sow's  sty  yonder,  and  you'll  get  on  right  enough. 
Have  you  got  a  sextant  and  an  epitome  ? " 

I  told  him  I  had  procured  them  by  the  captain's 
advice,  and  showed  them  to  him. 

"  Ah  !  a  jackass  sextant,  I  see.  However,  that'll 
do  all  you  want.  Now,  mind  what  I  tell  you. 
Stick  to  navigation,  boy.  The  old  man's  death  on 
teaching  youngsters  to  navigate.  You  get  the  right 
side  of  him  that  way.  Once  you  can  navigate  the 
ship  in  fair  weather  or  foul,  you're  on  the  first  step 
of  the  ladder  that  leads  to  the  weather  side  of 
the  quarter-deck  (but  not  always  to  command,  as 
I  know  too  well.)  Now,  there's  eight  bells — dinner- 
time. I'm  off." 

Seeing  that  a  lad  was  laying  a  cloth  on  the 
table  in  what  I  may  henceforth  call  our  berth, 
I  concluded  that  dinner  would  soon  be  ready,  so 
I  lay  down  on  my  bunk  to  ruminate. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  I  thought,  "  Alec  Boyd,  you 
seem  likely  to  have  a  fair  share  of  experience  in 
the  world  before  you  take  his  Royal  Highness  the 
Commander-in-Chief  at  the  word  of  his  letter  to  the 


2O  THE  SHELLBACK. 

governor,  and  allow  him  to  provide  for  your  future 
military  career — after  you  have  passed  the  exam. 
That  same  examination  does  not  at  present  bear 
the  appearance  of  coming  off  in  the  near  future, 
judging  by  the  mate's  report  of  my  new  master. 
Let's  see.  You've  been  eighteen  months  in  Aus- 
tralia, and  in  that  time  have  been  a  clerk,  a 
timber-getter,  a  charcoal-burner,  a  storeman,  a  stock- 
man, a  horse-dealer,  and  now  you've  turned  sailor. 
What  next?  Why,  next,  of  course,  the  army.  No 
more  knocking  about  like  this  for  me.  It's  pleasant 
for  a  time,  as  a  holiday;  but  when  one  is  hard  up 
it's  not  so  pleasant.  By  the  way,  let's  overhaul 
the  purse.  I  wonder  how  much  I  have  left  ? " 

Five  shillings,  a  threepenny-bit,  and  two  coppers 
bearing  the  device  of  Holloway  of  pill  and  oint- 
ment fame,  was  the  result  of  an  inspection  of  purse 
and  pockets. 

"By  Jove!"  I  pursued;  "this  will  never  do. 
I  must  get  some  more.  But  how?  I  can't  go 
ashore  again.  Dickens  plainly  told  me  that.  The 
captain's  coming  on  board,  and  we  weigh  anchor 
this  evening.  What  an  ass  I  was  not  to  ask  for 
some  in  town!  Then  there's  my  fiddle.  Left 
behind,  of  course.  I  could  possibly  have  sold  it 
in  Callao  if  I  wanted  money.  Now  that  chance 
is  gone.  What  the  deuce  is  to  be  done?" 


WHICH  INTRODUCES  THE  "  ALTAMONT."      21 

"Below  there!"  sang  out  just  then  a  voice 
which  I  recognised  as  the  captain's.  "  Come  on 
deck,  boy.  Mr.  M.  has  brought  you  some  more 
traps.  D if  you  won't  turn  my  ship  into  a  fur- 
nishing warehouse!"  and  he  laughed,  but  I  did 
not  like  the  laugh.  It  had  not  a  healthy  sound 
about  it.  I  like  a  laugh  that  begins  at  a  man's 
eyebrows  and  rolls  down  all  over  him  like  an 
avalanche,  shaking  the  neighbourhood  with  its  jolly 
rumbling.  The  captain's  laugh  was  a  low,  smile- 
less  chuckle,  very  Mephistophelean  in  character. 
I  had  ugly  evidence  of  the  value  of  his  laugh  a 
few  months  later.  On  deck  I  found  my  brother's 
partner,  who  had  good-naturedly  brought  me  my 
fiddle,  several  pounds  of  good  tobacco,  an  extra 
blanket,  and  a  few  other  unconsidered  trifles.  He 
did  not  stay  long,  as  he  was  wanted  on  shore;  so 
he  bade  me  good-bye  in  a  very  friendly  manner, 
and  I  never  clapped  eyes  on  him  again  until 
thirty-one  years  afterwards,  when  on  a  visit  to 
Melbourne  from  Queensland.  He  then  looked 
exactly  as  he  had  done  when  I  had  last  seen  him 
aboard  the  Altamont.  He  was  pulled  ashore  in  a 
shore  boat,  and  the.  captain  ordered  the  boys  and 
a  few  ordinary  seamen  to  get  the  ship's  boat 
hoisted  up  and  secured. 


22 


CHAPTER  II. 
A   SAILORS'  "SHANTEY." 

As  soon  as  the  boat  was  hoisted  up,  the  boys 
went  down  with  me  into  our  berth,  and  began 
asking  me  all  kinds  of  questions.  They  overhauled 
iny  "  leather  bag,"  as  they  called  it,  and  passed 
judgment  upon  eacli  item  of  dress.  The  water- 
proof they  denounced  loudly.  It  was  a  "  mate's 
coat,"  they  said.  Mates  didn't  go  aloft  (chief 
mates  didn't,  at  least),  and,  therefore,  they  could 
wear  long  coats  in  wet  weather.  Everyone  else  wore 
short  oilskin  jackets  and  trousers,  which  didn't  flap 
about  the  legs  and  impede  nimble  motion  aloft. 
So  it  was  decided  that  if  I  could  not  effect  an  ex- 
change with  some  foremast  hand,  the  coat  must  be 
"razeed,"  i.e.,  cut  down  to  shorter  dimensions. 

When  at  the  bottom  of  the  "  potato  sack " 
(another  name  for  the  unfortunate  portmanteau) 
they  arrived  at  the  brandy,  they  desisted  from 
further  search.  The  open  bottle  was  taken  out 
and  placed  on  the  dinner  table.  The  third  mate, 
Mr.  See,  who  had  just  come  down  to  dinner, 
was  invited  to  drink  my  health,  and  when  all 


A  SAILORS'  "SHANTEY?  23 

had  taken  a  stiff  tot,  the  steward  of  the  berth  was 
called  by  the  smallest  boy  of  the  four  : 

"  Here,  Scouse  !  you  tief !  Here's  a  tot  for 
you  to  drink  your  new  masther's  health ;  and  bad 
luck  to  you,  Scouse,  if  the  beans  are  burned  this 
day.  Clear  out  now,  ye  baste,  and  don't  be 
spluttering  all  over  the  table ! " 

Scouse,  whose  real  name  was  Joseph  Brown, 
was  an  amiable  sort  of  youth  about  sixteen  years  of 
age,  but  he  had  a  terrible  impediment  in  his 
speech,  and  as  he  was  not  very  brave,  he  stood  in 
great  dread  of  the  fourteen-year-old  Irish  bantam 
cock  who  had  just  addressed  him. 

Before  going  any  further,  I  may  as  well 
describe  my  shipmates,  as  it  will  save  trouble 
hereafter. 

To  begin  with  the  captain.  He  was  a  fine,  hand- 
some man,  over  six  feet  high,  broad  in  proportion 
and  very  powerful.  He  had,  I  was  told,  been  in  the 
American  Navy,  but  left  after  a  few  years  and 
entered  the  merchant  service.  He  could  be  a  most 
gentlemanly  and  pleasant  companion  amongst  his 
equals  or  superiors,  but  at  sea  he  rarely  addressed 
anyone  except  on  duty,  and  on  such  occasions  the 
best  of  his  friends  would  not  have  the  hardihood 
to  call  him  polite.  He  was  very  scientific,  and 
lifeed  to  teach  the  boys  the  use  of  the  various 


24  THE  SHELLBACK. 

instruments  used  in  navigation.  But  woe  betide  the 
unhappy  foremast  Jack  whom  he  caught  with  a 
sextant.  Overboard  went  the  instrument,  and  the 
unhappy  man,  who  had  probably  been  master  of  his 
own  ship  at  no  distant  date,  was  overwhelmed  with 
torrents  of  blasphemy  accompanied  by  kicks  and 
blows,  till  he  escaped  below.  But  I  shall  have  plenty 
to  say  about  the  captain  as  the  story  proceeds. 

The  chief  mate  was  an  elderly  bald-headed 
man,  naturally  kindhearted,  but  whose  kindly 
instincts  had  to  be  repressed  when  the  captain 
was  within  earshot.  His  great  fault  was  weakness 
in  dealing  with  the  men,  added  to  which  he  was 
supposed  not  to  be  a  good  seaman.  It  is  of  no  use 
for  an  officer  to  ship  on  any  vessel  unless  he  is 
full  of  "  go,"  least  of  all  on  an  American  vessel. 
He  must  there  know  his  duty  "  up  to  the  knocker," 
as  they  say.  As  long  as  the  men  know  him  to  be 
a  good  sailor,  they  will  put  up  with  all  sorts  of 
abuse  and  ill-treatment  at  his  hands.  On  board 
a  Yankee  ship  he  must  be  a  regular  "  ring-tailed 
roarer,"  smart,  spry,  and  able  to  be  everywhere 
at  once,  night  and  day.  Above  all,  he  must  be 
able  to  make  work  for  the  crew. 

Amongst  such  crews  as  were  shipped  in  those 
days  there  were  always  one  or  two  sea-lawyers, 
who  led  the  rest  in  every  act  of  insubordination. 


A  SAILORS'  "SHANTEY"  25 

They  fomented  discontent,  and  often  invited  their 
followers  to  open  mutiny.  Give  such  fellows  a 
moment  to  themselves,  and,  in  figurative  language, 
there  would  be  "  hell  to  pay  "  in  no  time. 

Good  old  Mr.  Dickens  was  not  made  of  the  stuff 
required  for  a  Yankee  mate,  a  fact  the  men  were 
not  long  in  discovering,  and  thenceforth  his  life 
was  a  burden  to  him. 

The  second  mate,  Mr.  Marshall,  was  of  the 
usual  type  of  officer  who  ships  in  a  different 
ship  every  voyage.  He  was  a  poorly  educated 
man,  but  a  fair  sailor,  though  the  captain  very 
seldom  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  showing  what 
he  could  do.  He,  of  course,  kicked  and  bullied 
the  men,  but  he  rarely  troubled  the  boys,  who 
were  under  the  captain's  special  protection. 

Our  third  mate  was  Mr.  See,  an  Englishman,  a 
jolly  sort  of  young  fellow,  always  up  to  a  lark  on 
shore,  and  generally  popular  with  everyone  but  the 
captain;  but,  as  no  one  was  popular  with  the  old 
man,  that  did  not  much  matter. 

The  carpenter,  "  Chips  "  as  he  is  named  on  board 
ship,  was  a  huge,  bilious,  sour,  Presbyterian  Scots- 
man, who  made  no  friends  and  took  a  jaundiced 
view  of  life  generally.  Poor  fellow!  his  carpenter- 
ing and  sea-going  came  to  a  painful  end  before  he 
left  the  ship. 


26  THE  SHELLBACK. 

The  next  important  functionary  was  John  Fore- 
man, the  boatswain — a  splendid  seaman,  a  favourite 
with  the  men  and  boys,  and  one  who  had  small  fear 
of  captain  or  mates.  He  knew  his  work.  Edward 
Brown  and  Sarah  his  wife  —  coloured  people  — 
were  cook  and  stewardess.  There  being  no  passen- 
gers, however,  Mrs.  Brown  had  a  pleasant  life  of  it, 
and  as  she  was  very  good  to  us  boys,  we  did  all 
we  could  to  help  her  in  numerous  little  ways. 

The  cook,  or  "doctor"  (to  give  him  his  sea 
title)  is  a  great  functionary  on  board  ship.  He 
rules  supreme  in  the  galley ;  and  the  foremast  hands, 
ay,  and  even  the  officers,  like  to  be  "  well  in "  with 
him.  He  can  allow  or  forbid  wet  clothes  to  be 
hung  to  dry  in  his  galley.  He  can  provide  many 
a  surreptitious  pot  of  coffee  on  a  cold  wet  morn- 
ing, and  can  give  permission  to  a  favoured  few  to 
sit  and  toast  their  toes  and  frozen  fingers  at  the 
fire.  He  is  a  person  worth  cultivating. 

I  haven't  yet  mentioned  the  captain's  steward. 
He  was  the  best-hated  man  in  the  ship.  Cring- 
ing and  servile  to  the  captain,  he  was  offensive 
and  insulting  to  the  officers  and  boys,  who  dared 
not  retaliate  with  the  argumentum  ad  hominem 
for  fear  of  the  captain's  wrath.  It  was  no  use  to 
complain  of  him,  as  the  captain  would  believe 
nothing  against  him.  All  the  boys  could  do  was  to 


A  SAILOR^  "SHANTEY."  27 

christen  him  "Tallow  Dips,"  and  apply  the  epithet 
to  him  whenever  he  spoke  to  us.  Of  course,  he 
could  not  complain  of  this  to  his  master,  but  it 
enraged  him  so  much  that  he  put  in  practice  every 
mean  spite  in  his  power  to  make  us  uncomfortable. 
He  once  tried  to  induce  the  captain  to  take  our 
steward  into  the  cabin,  but  the  old  man  would 
not  allow  our  one  comfort  to  be  interfered  with,  and 
all  "  Dips  "  gained  by  the  move  was  an  intensification 
of  our  hatred  of  him.  The  boys  were  a  good 
average  lot,  good-tempered,  up  to  all  kinds  of  fun, 
and,  of  course,  inclined  to  shirk  everything  in  the 
way  of  duty.  The  cock  of  the  berth  was  Banks,  a 
little  old-fashioned  Irish  lad  of  fourteen,  the  son 
of  a  doctor  in  Ireland.  He  was  a  prime  little  fellow 
aloft.  During  the  two  years  he  had  been  at  sea 
he  had  learnt  a  surprising  amount  of  his  profession. 
He  preferred  the  forecastle  to  the  steerage,  and,  spite 
of  the  captain's  prohibition,  he  could  be  found  there 
as  often  as  in  our  part  of  the  ship.  Of  the  other 
two,  one  was  a  Liverpool  boy  named  Wilkinson, 
better  fitted  for  a  timber  drogher  than  for  a  ship 
like  ours.  He  was  heavy  and  rather  illiterate.  I 
believe  his  father  was  a  wealthy  ship-chandler  in 
Liverpool 

The  third  was  a  bright,   chubby,   cheerful  lad, 
always  laughing.       Whence   Billy   Sharpe   came,  or 


28  THE  SHELLBACK. 

who  he  was,  I  never  knew,  but  he  was  a  capital 
messmate. 

I  have  already  shown  how  I  came  to  find  myself 
on  board  an  American  merchant  ship  as  a  "boy/ 

Our  crew  were  mainly  "  Dutchmen."  This  does 
not  mean  that  they  were  Hollanders,  but  the 
Americans  call  sailors  of  every  nation  except  them- 
themselves  and  the  English  "Dutchmen."  A  French- 
man or  a  German  is  a  Dutchman,  so  is  an  Italian 
or  a  Greek.  As  a  rule,  a  crew  of  Dutchmen  is  a 
difficult  nut  to  crack.  Some  are  good  men,  some 
mere  "sojers"  (useless  as  seamen-loafers).  They  do 
not  pull  well  together,  and  when  any  trouble  arises, 
there  is  no  unanimity  amongst  them,  and  no  reforms 
are  possible.  The  captain  and  officers  look  upon 
them  with  contempt,  and  treat  them  far  worse  than 
dogs. 

One  of  our  crew  shipped  in  Melbourne  as  an 
able  seaman,  and  turned  out  never  to  have  been 
on  board  any  but  a  convict  ship.  He  had  long 
ago  served  his  "  time,"  and  took  the  first  opportunity 
of  getting  away  from  a  country  where  he  had 
doubtless  had  many  sad  experiences.  The  crew 
consisted  of  fifteen  able  seamen,  five  ordinary  sea- 
men, four  boys;  the  rest  included  the  boatswain, 
carpenter,  cook,  two  stewards,  three  mates,  and  the 
captain. 


A  SAILORS'  "SHANTEY"  29 

Considering  the  size  of  the  ship  and  the  spread 
of  her  canvas,  fifteen  able  seamen  were  not  a  large 
crew,  but  it  was  destined  to  be  still  further  reduced 
before  we  saw  old  England.  There  was  a  fair  lot 
of  live-stock  on  board,  seeing  that  there  were  no 
passengers.  Pigs  predominated,  there  being  no  less 
than  sixteen,  and  a  sow  about  to  farrow.  Turkeys, 
geese,  ducks,  and  fowls  for  the  cabin  table  constituted 
the  feathered  luxuries.  Finally  the  living  freight 
was  made  up  by  some  dogs  and  cats. 

Having  thus  cleared  the  way,  so  to  speak,  I  will 
get  on  with  the  story. 

Young  Banks  and  I  soon  became  sworn  allies. 
Poor  lad !  he  was  never  to  see  the  green  hills  of 
Wicklow  again.  Had  he  lived,  he  would  now  have 
commanded  a  fine  ship,  possibly  an  Atlantic  "  grey- 
hound." We  backed  each  other  up  in  all  sorts  of 
schemes  and  dodges  which  we  practised  for  obtaining 
large  supplies  of  good  things  out  of  "  Dips's  "  pantry, 
and  it  was  our  glory  to  get  this  sneaking  toady  into 
a  row.  He,  however,  always  escaped  a  rope's- ending, 
and  managed  to  throw  any  blame  which  might  have 
attached  to  himself  on  poor,  unoffending,  stuttering 
"  Scouse,"  whom  I  left  dishing  up  our  dinner.  The 
fare  was  excellent — soup,  roast  beef,  roast  potatoes, 
boiled  beans,  white  bread  and  pudding.  I  thought 
if  this  was  going  to  be  the  usual  menu  whilst  I  was 


3o  THE  SHELLBACK. 

on  board  there  would  be  no  reason  to  complain. 
I  mentioned  this  to  Barney  (my  chum  Banks's  nick- 
name). 

"  Well  then,"  he  replied,  "  may  ould  Harry  admire 
me  if  this  isn't  the  last  of  that  illigant  roast  well 
see.  It's  only  in  port  we  get  fresh  meat.  At  sea 
it's  '  Hould  on  to  me  tight,  bo',  till  I  shplit  the  bafe 
wid  the  axe/  Vigitables,  is  it?  Divil  a  vigitable, 
me  darlin',  will  cross  your  purty  potato-trap  till 
yez  see  Calloo  and  the  mud  droghers  forninst  yez." 
The  other  boys  corroborated  this  emphatic  state- 
ment, which  I  afterwards  found  to  be  substantially 
true.  After  dinner  we  lighted  our  pipes  and  enjoyed 
a  comfortable  lounge  till  two  bells  (1  p.m.),  when 
nil  hands  were  called  to  get  ready  for  heaving  up 
anchor.  Boats  were  secured  in  the  gripes  and  the 
tackles  stopped,  awnings  rolled  up  and  stowed  below, 
new  running  rigging  rove,  the  last  remaining  sails 
bent,  and  at  last  the  windlass  was  manned. 

The  windlass  on  a  sailing  vessel  is  not  unlike 
the  old  hand  fire-engine  as  to  the  manner  of 
working  it.  The  men  heave  the  great  brakes,  or 
handles,  up  and  down,  and  slowly  link  after  link 
of  the  great  iron  chain-cables  comes  in  through 
the  hawse-pipes,  and  passes  round  the  barrel  of 
the  windlass  below. 

The  work  is  always    accompanied    by    a    song 


A  SAILORS'  '  SHANTEY"  31 

called  a  "shantey"  (probably  from  the  French 
word  chanter,  to  sing).*  Now,  as  our  anchor 
chain  was  coming  in,  I  stood  by  the  men,  listening 
to  the  grand  chorus  "  Rolling  River "  and  to  the 
clank,  clank  of  the  ponderous  chain  as  it  passed 
in,  every  clank  seeming  to  me  a  step  nearer  home 
and  the  coveted  commission,  when — 

"  Now  then !  what  the  'tarnal  thunder  are  you 

skulking    about  there    for,  you  young  ?    Get 

down    to     the    main     deck    double     quick,    now, 

unless  you  want  me  to  help  you, you!"     It 

was  the  "old  man,"  the  captain,  the  pleasant  man 
I  had  met  in  my  brother's  office.  There  was  a 
change  with  a  vengeance!  I  felt  as  if  I  could 
have  gone  ashore  with  pleasure,  and  I  believe, 
had  there  been  a  shore  boat  alongside,  I  would 
have  jumped  into  it  and  made  a  run  for  it,  but 
it  was  too  late.  I  was  trapped,  and  Callao  or  Cork 
alone  could  see  me  leave  the  ship. 

I  went  down  below,  half-expecting  the  captain's 
boot  to  expedite  my  movements,  but  he  took  no 
more  notice  of  me.  I  afterwards  found  that  he 
had  no  business  forward,  and  it  was  the  mate's 
look-out  if  I  were  not  put  to  work. 

On  the  main  deck  I  found  the  three  other 
lads,  aided  by  a  couple  of  ordinary  seamen  hauling 

*  See  Note  I.,  p.  305. 


32  THE  SHELLBACK. 

in  the  falls  of  two  tackles,  hooked  to  the 
anchor-chains.  When  I  say  they  were  hauling,  I 
mean  the  ordinary  seamen  were  hauling  and  my 
berth-mates  were  simply  holding  on  to  the  falls 
and  swearing  at  the  men.  "  Here,  Riley ! "  (They 
thus  nicknamed  me  on  the  very  first  day.  Why, 
neither  they  nor  1  knew  or  cared.  All  had  a  nick- 
name, so  I  must  have  one  too,  and  Riley  would 
do  as  well  as  any  other.)  "  Here,  Riley ! "  shouted 
Barney,  "tail  on  and  gammon  to  pull  like  any- 
thing. Johnston!  you  Ballarat  bushranger,  if  you 
don't  haul  in  that  chain,  111  tell  the  old  man 
you  were  trying  to  steal  grog." 

:cVy!  I'm  a-doin'  on  it  all  myself,  s'elp  me. 
Nobody  helse  hain't  a-pullin'  ov  a  hounce ! " 
growled  Johnston. 

"Well,  keep  on  never  mindin',  and  maybe 
we'll  find  yez  a  tot  when  this  blessed  anchor's  up," 
said  Barney. 

"  Hove  short,  sir ! "  sang  out  the  mate. 

"  Bully  for  you,  old  hoss ! "  said  Mush,  a 
Corkonian  lad  of  our  mess.  "  Riley  !  cut  for 
the  bottle  while  there's  a  chance."  But  there 
was  to  be  no  tot  just  then.  The  topsails  had 
been  loosed  and  sheeted  home,  so  "  Hoist  away  the 
topsail  yards ! "  was  followed  by  the  lively  shantey, 
"  Whisky  Johnny,"  whilst  the  huge  yards  rose 


A  SAILORS'  "  SHANTEY?  33 

slowly  above  the  caps.  The  anchor  was  tripped, 
hove  up,  catted  and  fished.  More  sail  was  made, 
and  by  tea-time  both  anchors  were  secured  in- 
board, ropes  were  neatly  coiled  up,  and  the  great 
ship,  with  a  fair  wind  on  the  quarter,  was  speeding 
away  for  South  America. 

After  tea  the  men  were  all  mustered  aft,  and 
the  mate  and  second  mate  picked  out  alternately 
those  they  thought  likely  men  to  form  the  port 
and  starboard  watches. 

Barney  and  I  had  so  arranged  that  we  were 
both  picked  for  the  mate's  watch,  and,  although  I 
am  recording  my  own  history,  I  only  repeat  his 
statement  some  time  afterwards  that  his  boys  were 
the  two  smartest  in  the  ship. 


34 


CHAPTER   III. 

AT  SEA  U^DER  THE   STARS  AND   STRIPES. 

AFTER  this,  watch  and  watch  was  the  order  of 
the  day  and  night.  The  mate  took  the  first  watch 
from  eight  p.m.  to  midnight,  and  as  the  night  was 
fine,  and  the  mate  not  over-exacting,  Master  Barney 
suggested  our  retiring  to  the  head  of  the  com- 
panion-ladder, where  we  could  sleep  undisturbed 
until  the  next  watch  was  called.  I  said  something 
about  having  been  ordered  to  keep  the  bells  going 
every  half-hour. 

"Oh,  bother!"  said  Barney;  and  he  forthwith 
summoned  the  bushranging  Johnston,  and  promised 
him  a  stiff  glass  of  grog  every  night  ("  So  long  as 
mine  lasts,"  I  thought)  if  he  would  strike  the  after 
bell  at  the  right  time.  Johnston,  an  ex-convict 
and  thorough  soaker,  was  only  too  glad  to  earn  a 
glass  of  good  brandy  by  doing  what  was  really 
nothing  for  a  man  of  his  avowedly  nocturnal  habits. 
He  faithfully  promised,  and  faithfully  kept  his  word. 
The  mate  heard  the  bells  struck  regularly,  and 
did  not  trouble  himself  to  ascertain  who  struck 
them.  In  fact,  I  suspect  he  was  more  than  once 


AT  SEA  UNDER  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.     35 

asleep  himself  during  his  watch.  Just  before  mid- 
night our  ally,  Johnston,  awoke  us,  and  we  osten- 
tatiously paraded  ourselves  on  the  lee  side  of  the 
quarter-deck  in  full  view  of  the  now  lively  execu- 
tive officer,  who  would  ask  the  time. 

"Close  on  eight  bells,  sir,"  one  of  us  would 
answer,  but  it  might  have  been  eight  bells  in  the 
morning  watch  for  all  that  we  knew.  However,  that 
did  not  matter;  the  mate  was  satisfied,  and,  taking 
a  look  through  the  skylight  at  the  cabin  clock,  we 
struck  eight  bells. 

"Eight  bells  forrard  there!    Call  the  watch!" 

"Ay,  ay,  sir!"  sang  out  the  look-out  man;  and 
forthwith  the  starboard  watch  was  roused  out  by 
stamps  and  shouts  and  the  banging  of  a  hand- 
spike on  the  scuttle  over  their  head,  accompanied 
by:  "Starboard  watch  ahoy!  Eight  bells!  Do  you 
hear  the  news  down  *  there  ?  Turn  out,  star- 
bowlines  ! " 

Aft  one  of  us  ran  to  the  wheelhouse,  and 
called  the  second  mate,  whilst  the  other  ran  down 
and  lugged  our  shipmates  out  of  their  warm  berth. 
The  second  mate  crawled  out,  yawning  and  stretch- 
ing himself,  and  was  warmed  into  activity  by 
Mr.  Dickens  saying: 

"Bad  weather  brewing,  Mr.  Marshall.  Be  lively, 
and  keep  a  good  look-out.  Mind  you  shorten  sail 


36  THE  SHELLBACK. 

in  time.  It  looks  squally.  Call  the  captain  at 
six  bells." 

"All  right,  sir;  good-night."  And  the  dickey 
began  his  tramp  between  the  wheelhouse  and  the 
break  of  the  quarter-deck.  The  mate  went  to  his 
berth,  and  we  tumbled  below  and  got  between  the 
blankets. 

Scarcely  had  we  dropped  to  sleep  when  the 
boatswain  roared  down  the  hatchway: 

"All  hands,  shorten  sail!  Out  you  come,  boys 
— smart  now." 

"Turn  out;  Riley — quick!"  shouted  Barney.  "The 
old  man'll  be  on  deck  in  a  jiffy." 

"Let  go  the  royal  halliards,"  yelled  the  second 
mate.  "  Fore  and  mizen  topgallant  halliards  let  go !  " 

A  tremendous  black  squall  was  upon  us.  The 
ship,  being  light  and  with  all  plain  sail  set,  heeled 
over  to  it,  till  I  thought  she  would  capsize.  The 
captain  and  mate  were  on  deck  in  a  moment. 

"  Let  go  the  main- topgallant  halliards  !  Clew 
up  the  mizen  topsail!"  shouted  the  mate.  "Haul 
up  your  clewlines  and  buntlines.  Look  slippy, 
men.  Away  aloft,  there,  and  take  in  those  sails ! " 

Up  went  all  the  men  who  could  be  spared 
from  the  deck  work,  and  the  crashing,  banging, 
and  thrashing  mass  was  soon  reduced  to  order. 
Squall  after  squall  followed,  but  the  port  watch 


AT  SEA  LNDER  THE  STARS  AND  STRIFES.    37 

was  sent  below,  while  the  starboard  were  kept 
hard  at  work  all  the  watch,  making  and  shorten- 
ing sail.  There  was  no  need  to  call  the  captain. 
He  remained  on  deck  for  the  rest  of  the  night, 
looking  out  for  Port  Philip  Head,  which  we  ex- 
pected to  pass  through  about  three  a.m. 

At  four  a.m.  we  turned  out  again,  and,  ever 
on  the  alert  for  his  little  comforts,  Barney  roused 
up  the  coloured  cook  to  get  coffee  ready.  Coffee 
was  always  served  out  to  all  hands  as  soon  after 
four  o'clock  as  the  cook  could  get  his  fire  alight 
and  the  water  boiled.  The  coffee  was,  no  doubt, 
largely  composed  of  beans  and  dandelion  root  and 
the  sweetening  was  molasses ;  milk,  of  course,  there 
was  none ;  but  it  was  hot  and  sweet,  which  made 
it  very  comforting  to  men  who  had  been  on 
deck  for  several  hours  of  the  night.  Whilst  it 
was  getting  ready,  Barney  and  I  did  duty  again 
in  the  companion  way.  The  log  was  not  hove 
during  the  night,  as  the  position  of  the  ship 
with  regard  to  the  land  was  easily  seen. 

At  daylight  we  passed  between  the  Heads,  and 
the  pilot  left  the  ship.  At  five  a.m.  I  was  given 
the  key  of  the  paint-locker,  with  orders  to  serve 
out  buckets,  brooms,  and  holystones,  ready  for 
washing  decks.  These  holystones  are  called  bibles, 
as  we  had  to  go  on  our  knees  to  use  them.  I 


38  THE  SHELLBACK. 

fulfilled  my  difficult  task  with  much  gratification 
to  myself,  as  it  enabled  me  to  keep  below  out  of 
the  cold  morning  rain,  and  gave  me  a  sort  of 
official  standing,  By-and-by,  however,  I  was  turned 
to  cleaning  the  brasswork  with  Bath-brick  and 
oil,  and  a  nasty  job  it  was;  the  wretched  ship 
seemed  covered  with  brasswork,  but  the  boys  of 
the  morning  watch  had  to  do  it. 

We  were  now  fairly  at  sea,  and  very  soon  began 
to  settle  down  to  the  regular  routine  of  duty. 

Every  other  day  it  was,  of  course,  the  turn  of 
Barney  and  myself  to  commence  our  watch  at 
noon,  but  the  captain  demanded  the  "day's  work" 
every  afternoon  from  us. 

As  soon  as  dinner  was  over,  like  good  boys, 
we  sat  down  to  work  out  the  latitude.  So  far, 
I  had  not  worked  at  longitude ;  that  was  a  longer 
business,  and  was  yet  to  come.  But  we  managed 
to  make  such  a  long  business  of  the  latitude  that 
the  mate  would  send  the  steward  to  hurry  us 
up. 

Poor  Scouse  would  come  half-way  down  the 
ladder,  and  begin: 

"If  you  p-p-pup-puplease,  mum-mum-Mr.  Didi- 
Diki-Dickens " 

"Well,"  one  of  us  would  say,  "what  does 
Mr.  Dickens  want  now?" 


AT  SEA  UNDER  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.     39 

"Pup-please,  he  s-s-says  as  y-ye-you  m-mu-must 
gug-gug-go  on  deck" 

"Oh!  go  to  the  hangman,  Scouse,"  says  Barney. 
"  Tell  Mr.  Dickens  that  the  ship's  in  a  very  critical 
position,  and  the  captain  depinds  intoirely  on  us 
to  save  her,  as  he  foinds  himself  quoite  onaiqual 
to  the  tashk." 

Scouse  is  about  to  depart,  grinning,  when  I  stop  him. 

"I  say,  Scouse,  give  Mr.  Dickens  our  respectful 
compliments,  and  would  he  like  to  clear  the  salt 
air  out  of  his  throat?" 

A  very  short  lapse  of  time,  and  Mr.  Dickens 
appears,  apparently — but  we  know  it  is  only  appa- 
rently— very  wrath. 

"Now  you  boys!  It  seems  you  want  to 

take  command  of  the  ship.  I've  a  good 

mind  to  rope's-end  you  boys.  You've  not  yet 
been  a  dog-watch  in  the  ship,  and  damme  if 
you're  not  cheekier  than  the  oldest  shellback 
forrard.  Get  on  deck,  the  pack  of  you,  before  I 
start  you  up." 

But  the  bottle  is  on  the  table,  and  the  mate's 
eye  softens,  and  I  tell  him  that  we  know  he 
doesn't  mean  it.  He  is  so  kind-hearted.  It  is 
not  likely  we'd  ask  a  brute  who  would  knock  us 
about  and  bully  us  to  have  a  drink  ?  But  we 
know  a  gentleman  when  we  see  him.  So  please 


4O  THE  SHELLBACK. 

let  him  not  hunt  us  on  deck,  and  we  would  finish 
the  work  in  no  time. 

"  Now,  what  do  you  say,  Mr.  Dickens,  to  a  glass 
of  that  good  brandy  ?  It  will  soon  be  all  gone." 

"  Well,  as  it's  there,  I  don't  mind  just  taking  a 
little,  but  it's  only  to  keep  it  from  you  boys.  You 
have  no  business  to  drink  spirits  at  your  age." 
Then  he  filled  out  a  regular  nor'-wester,  and  took 
it  down  in  a  couple  of  gulps.  • 

"  Grog's  a  bad  thing,  depend  upon  it,  boys,  and 
it  is  always  the  ruin  of  those  that  indulge  in  it. 
Used  moderately — as  a  medicine — and  to  keep  off 
chills Boy!"  (to  the  steward)  "you  lazy  black- 
guard, get  me  a  glass  of  water 1  grant  it's 

very  serviceable." 

Meantime,  Scouse,  under  Barney's  gesture- 
command,  had  filled  out  another  tot,  putting  in 
very  little  water,  and  now  handed  it  to  the  mate. 

"  Ho  !  That's  right,  boy,  but  you  were  a 

long  time  about  it,  all  the  same.  Now,  boys,  you 
stick  to  this,  and  you'll  never  come  to  want." 
(Pointing  to  the  brandy  in  his  glass.)  He  then 
swallowed  the  second  dose,  remarked  that  the  water 
in  our  scuttle-butt  wanted  changing,  and  told  us 
to  come  on  deck  when  our  work  was  done.  We 
fulfilled  this  order  by  carefully  lying  down  and 
going  to  sleep  till  four  p.m.,  leaving  Wilkinson  and 


AT  SEA  UNDER  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.     41 

his  watch-mate  ibo  heave  the  log.  It  then  became 
our  first  dog-watch.  So  time  flew  by.  The  winds 
were  light  and  the  Altamont  very  slow. 

These  two  circumstances  were  fortunate  for  me. 
My  hands,  unused  to  the  wear  and  tear  of  hauling 
on  ropes,  had  very  soon  become  blistered,  and,  as 
there  was  no  rest  from  the  work,  they  got  raw  in 
many  places.  As  cleaning  the  brasswork  was  part 
of  my  duty,  the  verdigris  soon  poisoned  the 
wounds,  and  both  hands  became  a  mass  of  festering 
sores.  Had  I  been  ashore,  it  would  have  been 
very  easy  to  get  them  well  again,  but  here  there 
was  no  help.  For  hours  I  lay  in  agony  in  my 
watch  below,  as  the  dreadful  throbbing  of  inflamma- 
tion increased.  Sometimes,  as  a  great  favour,  I  got 
a  pot  of  hot  water  from  the  cook,  and  experienced  a 
momentary  relief  from  the  pain,  but  the  water  soon 
cooled,  and  no  more  could  be  got.  At  last  the  mate 
advised  me  to  go  to  the  captain  and  ask  him  for 
something  to  cure  me.  I  was  half-afraid  to  go 
below  and  tackle  him  in  his  own  cabin.  But  I  was 
half-frantic  with  pain,  and  ventured  into  the 
sacred  precincts.  To  my  surprise,  he  was  as  nearly 
sympathetic  as  so  hard-hearted  a  man  could  be 
Of  course,  he  used  strong  language.  Then  he 
washed  my  wounds  with  Castile  soap,  gave  me  a 
piece  to  use  occasionally,  and,  better  still,  knocked 


42  THE  SHELLBACK. 

me  off  duty  till  I  should  be  able  to  fist  a  rope 
again.  The  process  of  cure  was  slow,  so  slow  that 
I  tried  to  help  it  by  borrowing  the  boatswain's  razor, 
and  cutting  into  the  most  swollen  parts  of  my  hands. 

In  about  a  week,  the  captain  came  down  into 
our  berth,  and  began  to  be  ugly.  He  finished 
by  telling  me  I  must  get  about  some  work,  adding, 
"  A  lower  deck  sailor  don't  look  well."  I  quite 
agreed  with  him,  and  would  have  given  a  great 
deal  to  have  been  able  to  do  my  share  of  the 
work,  but  it  was  impossible.  However,  the  next 
week  I  began  to  do  light  work,  and  my  hands 
gradually  hardened  and  became  fit  to  do  anything. 
The  brasswork  -  cleaning  was  handed  over  to 
Johnston,  the  ordinary  seaman,  and  I  never  touched 
it  again  while  I  was  on  board. 

I  had  at  first  felt  rather  afraid  of  going  aloft 
as  far  as  the  mainroyal  yard.  The  topgallant 
yards  I  did  not  mind,  as  they  seemed  more  sub- 
stantial that  the  royal,  which  swung  and  jerked 
about  in  a  most  uncomfortable  manner,  especially 
if  the  ship  was  pitching  much.  It  was  not 
long,  however,  before  the  mate  told  me  that  Barney 
and  I  would  have  to  loose  and  furl  the  royal 
whenever  there  was  occasion  to  do  so. 

The  occasion  happened  that  very  night.  It 
was  very  dark,  and  a  sudden  squall  was  coming 


AT  SEA  UNDER  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.     43 

up.     The  royal  halliards  were  at  once  let  go.     Barney 
and  I  helped  to  haul  up  the  clewlines  and  buntlines. 

"Now,  up  we  go,"  he  said.  "The  sooner  we're 
there,  the  sooner  well  be  down."  So  we  ran  up 
the  weather  rigging,  crawled  over  the  maintop,  and 
were  over  the  topgallant  crosstrees  and  on  the 
royal  yard  before  I  realised  where  we  were.  I 
could  scarcely  see  anything  but  the  sail  we  were 
taking  in ;  so  the  terrific  height  at  which  we  were 
above  the  deck  did  not  strike  me.  We  furled  the 
sail  and  came  down  without  my  having  experi- 
enced any  sense  of  giddiness.  After  this,  I  made 
no  more  of  getting  on  the  royal  yard,  even  when 
it  was  mastheaded,  than  I  would  of  standing  on 
the  deck.  To  continue,  we  made  very  little  pro- 
gress until  we  had  been  out  about  eighteen  days, 
when  we  got  a  taste  of  a  gale  or  two  which 
found  out  the  weak  points  of  our  spars  and 
rigging.  On  this  particular  day  we  had  fresh 
breezes  from  W.  by  N.  and  W.  by  S.,  so  that  we 
could  carry  all  sail  with  advantage.  The  ship 
presented  a  beautiful  picture  as  she  rolled  on  her 
way,  doing  from  eight  to  nine  knots  almost  before 
the  wind,  as  we  were  steering  E.  by  N.,  throwing 
the  water  in  vast  masses  of  foam  from  her  sturdy 
bows,  bowing  right  and  left  like  a  lady  in  a  ball- 
room, and  whilst  aloft  she  was  dressed  in  all  her 


44  THE  SHELLBACK. 

dimity — mainroyal,  topmast,  and  topgallant  stun- 
sails  on  both  sides — below  she  spread  her  vast 
courses,  and  crossjack  spanker  and  lower  stunsails. 
All  the  staysails  and  jibs  were  set,  and  she  tore 
through  the  water  at  a  rate  that  actually  drew  a 
pleased  look  from  the  captain.  Unfortunately  this 
was  not  to  last. 

Shortly  after  midnight  the  wind  freshened  so 
much  and  the  sky  had  such  a  squally  appearance, 
that  the  ship  was  shorn  of  all  her  beauty  in  a 
very  short  time.  In  came  all  the  stunsails,  the 
booms  were  rigged  in,  the  mainroyal  and  three  top- 
gallant sails  followed  suit.  Still  the  gale  increased, 
and  the  puffs  grew  more  frequent  and  more  violent 
with  shorter  lulls,  so  the  mainsail  was  furled  and 
the  mizzen  topsail  double-reefed.  It  was  now  that 
the  defects  in  our  rigging  were  discovered. 

During  the  whole  time  this  gale  lasted  we  were 
continually  reeving  new  running  gear,  or  splicing 
old  rotten  halliards  and  other  ropes.  The  clewlines 
and  leechlines  especially  seemed  all  shoddy,  but 
brails,  sheets,  lifts,  and  all  the  other  kinds  of 
"strings,"  as  the  sailors  call  them,  seemed  in  a  bad 
case — a  pound  or  two  extra  strain  and  the  ropes 
parted.  The  mate  swore,  the  captain  glared 
viciously,  as  the  men  put  their  strength  into  a 
pull,  with  the  object,  of  course,  of  parting  a  rope 


AT  SEA  UNDER  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.     45 

if  possible;  but  no  one  could  grumble  at  men 
doing  their  work  with  a  will.  The  only  way  to 
save  the  "  strings "  was  to  give  the  order  to  belay 
before  even  the  needful  strain  was  got.  But  this 
did  not  save  us. 

At  four  p.m.  on  the  following  day  we  took  in 
the  first  reef  of  the  fore  and  main  topsails.  Now 
the  ship  was  tearing  through  the  water  at  some  ten 
knots  an  hour,  burying  her  chains  every  time  she 
rolled,  and  flooding  her  decks  as  she  every  now 
and  then  buried  her  nose  in  some  monstrous  sea. 
Our  being  in  ballast  trim  made  her  somewhat 
crank,  so  that  caution  was  required  in  carrying 
sail.  In  the  first  watch  we  furled  the  upper  top- 
sails and  mizzen  topsail,  and  now  the  wind  blew 
with  tremendous  violence;  the  weight  of  it,  how- 
ever, was  not  so  much  felt  as  it  would  have  been 
had  we  been  tacking.  At  midnight  the  order  was 
given  to  furl  the  foresail.  This  was  my  first 
experience  on  the  foreyard  in  a  gale  of  wind. 
The  footropes  hung  so  low  that  I  could  barely 
reach  over  the  yard  to  get  a  grip  of  the  sail. 
Then,  when  the  men  made  a  combined  effort  to 
pick  up  the  sai]f  their  legs  flew  out  backwards  till 
they  seemed  to  be  lying  horizontally  at  right 
angles  with  the  yard.  My  legs  were  too  short  to 
reach  so  far  back,  so  my  feet  instantly  slipped  oft 


46  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  footrope,  but  I  had  a  good  grip  of  the  jack- 
stay  and  hung  on  all  right  till  the  footrope  came 
back,  and  I  got  my  feet  firmly  on  it  again.  That 
foresail  was  a  stiff  job :  it  was  wet  and  heavy,  the 
night  was  pitch  dark,  and  the  gale  seemed  to  be 
on  all  sides  of  us.  It  appeared  to  me  like  a  whole 
watch  that  we  were  struggling  with  the  sail;  but 
at  last  it  was  safely  furled,  and  secured  by  the 
gaskets,  and  even  a  good  bunt  was  made. 

The  wind  now  blew  harder  than  ever,  and  we 
had  barely  reached  the  deck  when  "Clew  up  the 
lower  fore-topsail !  Look  spry,  bullies !  Get  hold  of 
your  clewlines  !  Ease  off  the  sheets ! "  sent  us  again 
aloft.  We  were  hard  at  work  furling  the  topsail 
when  we  heard  a  sound  like  a  clap  of  thunder, 
followed  by,  "  Lay  down  from  aloft,  some  of  you. 
Main  topmast  staysail  down  haul !  Down  with  her, 
boys,  before  we  lose  her ! " 

It  was  the  splitting  of  this  sail  which  had  caused 
the  report  we  had  heard.  The  ship  was  now  driving 
along  under  her  lower  main  topsail  and  fore-topmast 
staysail,  and  spanker.  There  was  little  more  to  be 
done  in  the  way  of  reducing  sail,  so  Barney  and  I 
took  our  usual  post  in  the  companion  way,  but  not 
before  we,  together  with  all  hands,  had  received  a 
tot,  which  the  captain  ordered  his  steward  to  bring 
on  deck 


AT  SEA  UNDER  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.     47 

I  soon  fell  asleep,  in  spite  of  the  unearthly  noise 
of  the  wind  screaming  in  the  rigging,  blocks  rattling, 
inasts  creaking,  and  yards  not  tautly  braced  slapping 
their  parrels  against  the  masts.  The  roaring  of  the 
sea  as  dark,  swirling  masses  of  water  rushed  against 
the  ship  and  hurled  themselves  on  the  decks,  seemed 
to  act  on  me  as  a  lullaby,  and  I  must  have  slept  till 
nearly  eight  bells  in  the  middle  watch,  when  I  felt 
myself  roughly  awakened. 

"  What's  the  matter  now  ? "  I  grumbled.  "  Is  the 
ship  over  the  side  ? " 

"No,"  shouted  Barney  (for  it  was  he  who  had 
roused  me),  "but  the  masts  are." 

"  Oh,  get  out  of  that ! "  I  growled.  "  Let  me  finish 
my  sleep." 

"  But  wake  up,  Riley  avick.  Shure  it's  the  truth 
I'm  tellin'  ye.  Divil  a  word  of  a  lie." 

I  turned  out  at  this,  and,  looking  aloft,  sure 
enough  there  was  a  pretty  sort  of  a  mess.  The 
main  topmast  had  gone  at  the  cap,  and  carried 
with  it  the  fore  and  mizzen  topgallant  masts,  and 
there  hung  the  whole  raffle — masts,  yards,  rigging  all 
flying  out  to  leeward  and  banging  and  twisting  round 
the  standing  rigging  in  such  a  frantic  manner  that 
it  was  dangerous  to  life  and  limb  to  go  near  the 
flying  mass.  One  stood  as  good  a  chance  of  being 
hanged  as  of  being  killed  by  a  blow  from  a  block,  or 


48  e      THE  SHELLBACK. 

of  being  knocked  overboard  by  a  spar.  Still,  neither 
officers,  men,  nor  boys  shirked  the  danger.  They 
went  manfully  to  work  with  knife  and  axe,  and  saved 
everything  that  could  be  saved.  The  rest  went 
overboard. 

I  may  as  well  say  here  that  an  examination  of 
the  broken  stump  of  the  topmast  showed  that  it  was 
actually  rotten,  and  the  wonder  was  that  it  had 
not  gone  when  the  weight  of  the  whole  topsails  and 
topgallant  sails  was  on  it.  As  may  well  be  imagined, 
the  captain  was  on  deck  the  whole  time  the  hurri- 
cane lasted.  To  give  him  his  due,  he  was  a  splendid 
sailor,  cool  and  collected  in  danger,  never  sparing 
himself  or  others,  and  never  hampering  the  officers 
by  giving  counter-orders  unless  absolutely  necessary. 
He  did  not  leave  the  deck  day  or  night,  his  steward 
bringing  up  whatever  he  required  in  the  way  of 
refreshment. 

Now  it  unfortunately  happened  that  the  loss 
of  the  spars  occurred  in  the  middle  watch, 
which  was  the  mate's  watch.  The  wrath  of  the 
captain  was  something  terrible  when  the  masts 
went.  Even  to  our  eyes  and  to  those  of  the  crew 
no  possible  blame  could  attach  to  the  mate.  The 
ship  was  under  just  the  sail  she  required,  and  the 
captain  was  present  and  would  not  have  hesitated 
to  take  the  command  out  of  the  mate's  hands  had 


AT  SEA  UNDER  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES.    49 

he  thought  that  anything  further  was  necessary  to 
be  done.  Nevertheless,  the  old  man,  when  all  was 
over,  marched  up  and  down  the  weather  side  of  the 
quarter-deck,  blowing  clouds  of  smoke  from  a  yard 
of  clay — a  kind  of  pipe  he  always  smoked — and 
ejaculated  between  the  puffs: 

"  Dickens  !  mate,  eh  !  curse  him  for  a  lime-juicer." 
(An  English  sailor,  or,  rather,  one  who  serves  on  an 
English  ship,  which  the  American  sailors  call  "  lime- 
juicers,"  in  consequence  of  lime-juice  being  served  out 
to  the  men.)  A  lime-juicer !  (Puff.)  Only  fit  for  a 
measly  tug-boat.  (Puff.)  Fool!  (Puff.)  Idiot!  (Puff.) 
Longshore  swab  \  He  a  sailor !  (Puff,  puff,  puff.) 
He's  only  a  sojer !  (Puff.)  My  main  topmast — two 
hundred  dollars  !  (Puff,  puff.)  Two  topgall't  masts — 

three  hundred  more !  (Puff.)  Sails,  too,  d him  ! " 

Smash  went  the  pipe  on  the  deck.  The  tiger  was 
now  worked  up.  "  Here,  Mr.  Dickens,  come  aft 
here,  sir  ! " 

To  repeat  the  torrent  of  brutal  profanity  that 
fell  from  the  captain's  lips  upon  the  unfortunate 
mate,  would  only  revolt  the  reader.  Suffice  it  that, 
for  half  an  hour  the  unhappy  man  underwent 
this  storm  of  coarse  abuse  in  the  hearing  of  all  the 
men.  The  result  was,  his  influence  and  authority 
were  weakened.  The  men  openly  defied  him  and 
lost  no  opportunity  of  insulting  him. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WE  LOSE   OUR  FIRST  MATE. 

I  HAVE  already  stated  that  the  chief  officer  was  a 
kind-hearted  old  man,  but  his  disposition  had  been 
soured  by  disappointment.  He  had  no  influential 
friends  by  whose  help  he  might  have  obtained 
command  of  a  ship,  and  saw  himself  doomed  to 
remain  a  subordinate  whilst  younger  men  were 
every  day  rising  to  commands. 

He  never  exercised  any  tyranny  over  the  crew, 
but  he  was  in  the  habit  of  giving  contradictory 
orders  and  of  making  the  hands  do  unnecessary 
work  in  order  to  show  that  he  kept  them  employed. 
The  consequence  was  that  they  looked  on  him  as 
a  fit  subject  for  practical  jokes. 

One  morning,  the  captain  came  on  deck  during 
the  mate's  watch,  just  as  the  latter  was  in  the 
act  of  using  a  knife  to  cut  a  knot  off  a  bucket- 
rope.  Now  the  skipper  had  a  mortal  aversion  to 
the  cutting  of  ropes,  if  there  was  the  remotest 
possibility  of  clearing  them  of  knots  or  of  a  foul  by 
the  use  of  a  marlin'-spike  or  pricker.  So  finding 
Mr.  Dickens  about  to  perpetrate  the  enormity 


WE  LOSE  OUR  FIRST  MATE.  51 

of  cutting  the  Gordian  (bucket-rope)  knot,  he 
exclaimed:  "Aha!  would  you?" 

The  mate  stopped  in  his  work,  and  looked  at 
the  captain  with  such  a  comical  expression  that 
all  hands  near  him  burst  out  laughing.  Ever 
after  that  the  captain's  expression  to  the  mate 
was  used  to  him  on  all  possible  occasions.  If  it 
were  fair  weather,  and  any  hands  up  aloft,  it 
might  chance  that  the  unhappy  man  went  to  take 
up  a  telescope,  but  no  sooner  had  he  laid  his 
hand  on  it  than  "Aha!  would  you?"  came  down 
from  aloft.  The  poor  man,  instead  of  taking  up 
the  instrument  and  ignoring  the  insult  for  the 
time,  would  look  up  and  inquire  who  made  the 
remark;  upon  which  the  men  busied  themselves 
about  their  work  and  pretended  not  to  hear,  whilst 
the  mate  growled  and  damned  them  for  a  pack 
of  Yankee  blackguards;  a  chuckling  laugh  being 
the  response  from  the  tarry  cherubs  above. 

All  the  time  the  ship  rolled  along  over  the 
blue  Pacific,  sometimes  for  days  together  only  doing 
four  knots  an  hour;  at  others,  when  a  gale  sprang 
up,  running  ten,  till  she  carried  away  some  spar 
or  other.  She  had  a  most  singular  knack  of 
doing  herself  some  damage  whenever  there  was  the 
least  chance  of  getting  on. 

On    the   twenty-second    day   out   the  carpenter 


52  THE  SHELLBACK. 

had  the  new  spars  ready,  and  they  were  sent  up 
and  the  sails  bent  and  the  rigging  set  up  taut. 
Then  began  more  bother  with  stunsails.* 

We  had  a  few  days  of  this  work,  when  strong 
S.W.  winds  came  to  our  relief,  and,  as  we  expected 
shortly  to  be  making  the  coast  of  Peru,  the  stun- 
sails  were  stowed  away  and  the  booms  sent  down. 
The  carpenter  now  examined  the  boats,  and  none 
were  found  sound.  Fresh  planks  were  put  into 
them,  and  they  were  made  as  fit  for  service  as 
possible;  though,  had  we  taken  fire  or  been  com- 
pelled for  any  other  reason  to  abandon  the  ship, 
not  one  could  have  been  depended  upon  to  gain 
the  shore  if  the  slightest  sea  were  to  get  up. 

About  this  time  one  of  the  captain's  cats  mys- 
teriously disappeared.  The  old  man  soon  noticed 
its  absence,  and  he  ordered  the  whole  ship  to 
be  searched  for  the  animal.  The  lower  hold  being 
empty,  except  for  the  stone  ballast,  offered  a  pos- 
sible solution  to  pussy's  whereabouts,  but,  although 
the  whole  crew  was  employed  in  the  search,  no 
Thomas  could  be  found. 

The  captain  raved  and  swore,  declaring  he  would 
cut  the  heart  out  of  the  man  who  had  made  away 
with  his  cat — if  he  could  find  him  out.  All,  how- 
ever, was  of  no  use,  The  real  truth  I  learned, 

*  See  Note  II.,  p.  306. 


WE  LOSE  OUR  FIRST  MATE.  53 

after  we  left  the  ship,  from  Mr.  See,  the  third 
mate.  He  was  washing  decks  one  morning  and 
pointed  the  nozzle  of  the  hose  at  the  cat,  which 
was  sitting  on  the  rail  to  keep  out  of  the  wet. 
The  force  of  the  water  knocked  the  poor  animal 
overboard.  He  had  not  intended  to  do  more  than 
to  give  it  a  fright,  and  when  he  saw  the  result 
he  discreetly  held  his  tongue. 

I  mentioned  that  during  the  passage  from  Mel- 
bourne we  boys  had  to  appear  on  deck  with  our 
sextants  between  half-past  eleven  and  noon  to  take 
the  sun,  and  the  captain  took  great  pains  to  teach 
us  how  to  work  out  the  latitude.  We  soon  be- 
came adepts  at  this  work,  and  began  to  study 
the  longitude,  taking  the  altitudes  of  the  moon 
and  stars,  and  when  we  began  this  work  the  cap- 
tain always  sent  one  of  us  into  the  cabin  to  take 
the  time  of  the  chronometer  as  he  took  his 
sights.  Then  he  would  come  below  and  show  us 
how  to  work  it  out. 

I  remember  on  one  occasion  being  sent  down 
to  take  the  time.  I  looked  at  the  chronometer, 
and  put  down  two  o'clock  on  my  slate.  The 
captain  soon  got  his  first  sight,  and  sang  out, 
"  Stop ! "  I  noted  the  minutes  and  seconds  after 
two  p.m.,  and  set  them  down.  Soon  came  "Stop!" 
once  more,  and  again  a  third  time,  which  finished 


54  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  "set"  of  sights,  the  mean  of  which  is  after- 
wards taken  as  correct.  He  then  called  down  to 
me  through  the  skylight,  telling  me  to  work  it 
out  and  bring  the  result  to  him  on  deck. 

Very  proudly  I  got  out  my  Norie's  "Epitome" 
and  my  Nautical  Almanac  and  set  to  work.  It 
was  not  long  before  I  had  a  neat  slateful  of 
figures,  and  the  longitude  shown  to  be  113°  35'  W. 

I  took  up  my  work  to  the  captain,  feeling  sure 
of  getting  praise  for  its  neatness  and  correctness. 
He  ran  his  eye  over  the  slate,  then  glared  at  me. 
Out  came  the  usual  volley  of  execrations,  fol- 
lowed by: 

"Why,  where  in  thunder  have  you  got  the  ship 
to  ?  Why,  she's  been  doing  a  good  nine  knots  on 
her  course,  and  damrne  if  you  haven't  had  stern- 
way  on  her  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours." 

I  stoutly  declared  the  work  was  right.  He 
made  me  bring  up  the  books,  and  he  worked  it 
out  himself.  He  couldn't  make  it  out.  I  was 
undoubtedly  correct.  There  was  nothing  to  be 
said.  He  might  have  read  his  sextant  wrong,  but 
my  working  was  the  same  as  his. 

"By  the  Piper!"  he  said.  "This  beats  me.  I 
must  take  some  more  sights.  Down  you  go,  boy, 
and  don't  make  any  more  mistakes." 

I   went   below,  and   as  soon  as  I   clapped  eyes 


WE  LOSE  OUR  FIRST  MATE.  55 

on   the   chronometer    I  saw  what  I  had  done.      I 
had  read  a  II.  instead  of  a  III. 

This  time  I  got  it  down  right,  and  worked  the 
matter  out  to  a  very  different  conclusion.  Fortu- 
nately, the  captain  had  not  thought  of  looking  at 
the  hour  I  had  set  down.  If  he  had  remembered 
that  in  the  first  calculation  I  had  put  down  two 
o'clock  and  in  the  second  working  three  o'clock, 
I  should  probably  have  suffered  grievous  bodily 
harm.  But  I  had  rubbed  out  the  first,  and  if  he 
had  any  suspicion  and  questioned  me  I  should 
have  stuck  to  it  that  I  was  right  before.  Of 
course,  good  people  will  say  this  was  wrong,  and 
that  I  should  have  confessed  my  error.  Very 
good  people  would  find  life  on  board  an  American 
guano  ship  a  simple  hell  if  they  confessed  all 
their  mistakes.  The  yoke  rope,  the  rope's-end,  the 
knuckle-duster,  belaying-pin,  revolver,  etc.,  are  too 
handy  to  allow  people  to  be  good.  Evil  captains 
make  evil  crews,  and  lying  and  cheating  are 
brought  about  by  the  necessity  for  avoiding  cruel 
punishment  for  trivial  faults.  Had  I  confessed  to 
the  captain,  he  would  certainly  have  flogged  me, 
not  so  much  for  my  mistake  as  for  annoyance 
that  I  knew  he  had  not  discovered.  Discretion 
was  always  considered  the  better  part  of  valour  on 
board  the  Altamont. 


56  THE  SHELLBACK. 

Our  greatest  trouble  arose  from  lunar  and 
stellar  observations.  The  captain  insisted  on  our 
working  these  out  regularly.  I  fortunately  had 
a  mathematical  head,  but  poor  Barney  and  the 
two  others  could  make  neither  head  nor  tail  of 
the  work,  so  when  they  had  got  their  sights  they 
used  to  go  below,  take  their  books  and  slates,  light 
their  pipes,  and  make  a  tremendous  show  of 
working  till  I  had  finished.  Then  they  all  copied 
it,  altering  an  unimportant  figure  here  and  there 
so  as  to  make  the  work  look  bond  fide,  after  which 
they  boldly  marched  up  to  the  captain,  asked  him 
a  few  questions,  and  retired  triumphant. 

On  the  thirty-sixth  day  out  we  sighted  the 
first  vessel  we  had  yet  met  with.  She  passed 
within  hail,  and  proved  to  be  the  French  ship 
Chili  No.  2  from  Havre  to  Callao.  When  in 
latitude  31.19  S.  we  passed  several  turtle  and 
a  great  many  sperm  whales,  and  here  for  the  first 
time  I  saw  what  I  have  since  often  had  an 
opportunity  of  witnessing  —  a  fight  between  a 
thresher  and  a  whale.  The  unwieldy  leviathan 
appeared  to  be  quite  at  the  mercy  of  the  thresher, 
which  whirled  its  long  tail  in  the  air  like  a  stock- 
whip and  brought  it  down  with  terrific  violence 
on  the  whale's  back  The  victim  tried  to  escape  by 
sounding,  but  always  came  up  in  a  minute 


WE  LOSE  OUR  FIRST  MATE.  57 

or  two,  only  to  be  again  assailed  by  its  ferocious 
enemy.  Whether  a  sword-fish  was  attacking  the 
whale  from  beneath,  as  I  have  since  seen,  I 
cannot  say;  but  I  imagine  the  monster  could  have 
dived  deeper  than  the  thresher  would  have  cared  to 
follow,  had  there  not  been  some  enemy  below 
invisible  to  us. 

Several  more  ships  were  now  seen,  and  one  of 
them,  the  schooner  Twins,  bound  for  Falmouth 
with  guano,  took  letters  home  for  us.  We  now 
carried  all  sail  to  make  the  land  before  night,  but, 
not  being  able  to  do  so,  we  stood  away  to  the 
northward.  The  crew  were  now  busily  employed 
in  taking  off  chafing  gear,  furbishing  up  the  brass- 
work,  cleaning  the  decks,  etc.,  and,  as  it  fell  a  dead 
calm,  stages  were  rigged  over  the  side  and  scrapers 
and  brooms  put  into  requisition  to  make  the  ship 
look  clean  and  smart.  As  the  calm  had  every 
appearance  of  lasting,  the  captain  ordered  the 
port  quarter  boat  to  be  lowered,  and  took  us  boys 
some  distance  from  the  ship  to  fish.  I  quite  forget 
whether  we  caught  anything,  but  we  probably  got 
some  mackerel,  with  which  these  seas  swarm. 

At  ten  p.m.  that  night  a  boat  from  a  French 
brig  boarded  us.  The  boat's  crew  consisted  of 
four  men,  who  looked  haggard  and  woe-begone 
They  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English,  so  my 


58  THE  SHELLBACK. 

knowledge  of  French  was  brought  into  requisition. 
We  learned  that  they  belonged  to  a  vessel  bound 
to  Coquimbo  with  guano.  They  had  been  so  long 
becalmed  that  all  their  provisions  and  water  were 
expended,  and  they  were  reduced  to  great 
extremities,  especially  being  without  water.  We 
gave  them  a  bag  of  bread,  some  beef  and  pork,  a 
couple  of  barrels  of  water,  pipes,  tobacco,  and  a 
tot  of  grog  a-piece,  and  sent  them  on  their  way 
rejoicing.  They  must  have  had  a  tremendous  long 
pull,  as  no  brig  was  then  visible  from  our  decks, 
but  they  pointed  in  the  direction  where  she  lay, 
and  said  they  would  be  on  board  their  vessel  before 
the  morning. 

A  little  after  daylight  two  fine  American 
clippers  passed  us  :  one  the  Morning  Glory,  the 
other  the  Hellespont,  from  San  Francisco.  It  was  a 
beautiful  sight  to  see  these  lovely  models,  with 
their  deep  black  hulls  and  their  towering  clouds 
of  snowy  cotton  canvas,  slipping  along,  impelled 
by  some  imperceptible  zephyr  away  aloft  among 
their  royals  and  skysails,  whilst  our  massive 
frigate-built  old  liner  lay  like  a  rock,  which 
nothing  short  of  half  a  gale  would  galvanise  into 
any  sort  of  life. 

On  May  Day  we  nearly  had  a  fatal  accident 
The  calm  had  been  succeeded  by  favourable  winds, 


WE  LOSE  OUR  FSXST  MATE.  59 

and  we  were  slipping  gently  along  with  all  sail 
set  except  the  royal.  One  of  the  men  was 
working  on  the  main  topgallant  yardarm.  He  had 
just  got  back,  on  finishing  his  work,  to  the  tie, 
and  laid  hold  of  it,  when  it  parted.  Down  came 
yard  and  man.  Fortunately  the  parrel  (or  hoop 
round  the  mast)  jammed  for  a  second  as  the 
yard  came  down,  which  gave  him  time  to  get  hold 
of  some  other  part  of  the  rigging.  On  reaching 
the  cap,  the  yard  broke  in  two.  We  were  quite 
used  to  this  carrying  away  of  gear,  and  were  not 
surprised  when  an  hour  or  two  afterwards  the 
spanker  gaff  carried  away.  Both  spars  were  sent 
down  and  fished.  Of  course,  the  breeze  had 
freshened.  On  the  following  day  another  man 
was  doing  something  to  the  main  topgallant  stay, 
when  it  parted,  and  he  went  flying  to  leeward. 
The  ship  was  going  between  three  and  four  knots 
at  the  time.  He  just  cleared  the  bulwark,  and 
fell  into  the  sea  close  alongside.  As  the  ship 
slipped  past  him  he  caught  hold  of  a  mooring 
shackle  projecting  from  the  side,  and  clung  to 
it  with  all  his  might,  till  the  carpenter  passed  a 
bowline  over  his  shoulders,  and  a  rope  was  lowered 
to  him  by  which  he  was  able  to  haul  himself  on 
board,  assisted  by  the  men  tailing  on  to  the  bowline. 
As  soon  as  he  got  on  deck  he  shook  himself  and 


60  THE  SHELLBACK. 

went  aloft  again  as  unconcerned  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.  I  should  have  mentioned  that  when  our 
new  topgallant  masts  were  sent  up  they  had  been 
altered  so  that  we  could  carry  a  fore-  as  well  as  a 
main-royal,  and,  to  make  things  shipshape,  the 
mizzen  had  also  a  royal  added,  so  that  now  we 
carried  three  royals  instead  of  one,  and  we  boys 
were  proportionately  disgusted  at  the  increase  of 
work  which  fell  to  our  lot  when  we  had  to  shorten 
sail. 

We  were  now  drawing  in  with  the  land,  and 
were  passed  by  the  French  frigate  Bayonnaise, 
which  we  had  been  told  was  on  the  Callao  station. 
On  the  forty-eighth  day  we  sighted  San  Lorenzo 
light,  and  all  hands  were  employed  getting  the 
anchors  ready  and  laying  out  ranges  of  cable. 
Sail  was  then  shortened  to  close-reefed  topsails, 
and  at  midnight  we  hove  to  till  daylight.  At 
four  a.m.  we  went  into  port,  and  dropped  anchor 
in  sixty  fathoms.  All  sail  was  furled,  and  the 
captain  went  on  shore  to  report  the  ship's  arrival. 
The  ship  must  certainly  have  presented  a  hand- 
some, if  not  imposing,  spectacle  as  she  slowly  swept 
up  the  harbour.  Her  immense  size  and,  owing  to 
being  in  ballast  trim,  her  great  height  out  of  the 
water,  her  painted  ports,  her  slender  masts,  looking 
as  if  they  would  poke  holes  in  the  sky,  with  her 


WE  LOSE  OUR  FIRST  MATE.  61 

long  tapering  royal  poles,  all  contributed  to  give  a 
favourable  impression  of  the  vessel.  The  captain, 
as  an  old  man-of-warsman,  was  very  particular  about 
the  whiteness  of  the  deck  and  the  cleanliness  of 
the  paint  and  brasswork  Every  rope  in  the 
vessel  was  as  taut  as  in  a  warship,  and,  to  crown 
all,  a  whiplike  pennant  floated  from  our  main- 
truck,  the  United  States  ensign  was  at  the  gaff ; 
the  house  flag  and  number  were  also  displayed. 
We  certainly  made  a  noble  picture  at  sunrise. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  we  parted  with  our  good- 
natured  friend,  Mr.  Dickens,  who  was  heartily  glad 
to  leave  the  ship.  The  captain  was  mean  enough 
to  refuse  to  allow  him  a  boat  to  go  ashore  in.  He 
had  to  pay  for  a  shore-boat,  and,  as  we  lay  a  long 
way  out  from  the  mole,  he  no  doubt  had  to  pay 
a  heavy  fare.  We  were  sorry  we  could  not  ask 
the  old  gentleman  to  come  into  our  berth  and 
have  a  farewell  glass,  but  my  small  stores  of 
creature  comforts  had  long  since  disappeared. 
However,  we  all  shook  hands  with  him  as  he  went 
over  the  side.  He  warned  us  to  look  out  for 
squalls  on  the  passage  home,  as,  in  his  opinion, 
the  old  man  was  a  "terror,"  who  would  show  what 
he  was  made  of  once  the  ship  had  her  jibboom 
pointed  towards  Cape  Horn.  When  he  was  gone, 
the  second  mate,  Mr.  Marshall,  was  appointed  acting 


62  THE  SHELLBACK. 

mate.  The  third,  Mr.  See,  took  the  second  mate's 
birth,  he  being  replaced  by  the  boatswain,  John 
Foreman. 

We  boys  were  now  relieved  of  most  ship's  duty, 
as  we  had  to  form  the  captain's  boat's  crew,  but 
after  the  novelty  wore  off  we  would  have  given  a 
great  deal  to  have  been  left  quietly  on  board.  To 
begin  with,  the  boat  we  usually  used  was  the 
stern-boat,  very  leaky  and  very  old,  and  very 
heavy  to  pull.  I  never  could  understand  how  it 
was  that  a  man  who  was  so  very  particular  about 
appearances  should  have  been  blind  to  the  fact 
that  his  "gig,"  as  he  called  it,  was  the  worst 
amongst  the  crowd  of  gigs  belonging  to  the  ships 
in  port.  We  used  to  feel  quite  ashamed  of  her.  In 
spite  of  all  our  endeavours  to  make  her  look  smart, 
she  never  could  rise  to  look  like  anything  but  a 
collier  brig's  boat.  At  last  she  became  so  bad  that 
the  port  quarter-boat  was  used  as  the  gig.  She 
was  still  heavier  to  pull,  but  at  all  events  a  new 
plank  or  two,  some  putty  and  paint,  a  decent 
grating  in  the  sterusheets,  and  a  long  tiller  with 
a  neatly  carved  head,  gave  her  a  more  jaunty 
appearance. 

On  the  day  after  our  arrival  we  were  ordered 
to  pull  the  captain  to  the  mole.  The  weather  was 
magnificent,  the  sea  smooth,  and  the  old  man  in  a 


WE  LOSE  OUR  FIRST  MATE.  63 

fairly  good  temper,  so  we  rather  enjoyed  the  long 
pull.  Talk  of  a  scene  of  confusion  at  the  mole !  It 
was  bewildering.  Such  a  babel  of  tongues,  such 
varieties  of  complexions  and  dresses,  could  scarcely 
be  got  together  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  It 
was  a  time  when  the  guano  trade  was  in  full  swing. 
Hundreds  of  ships  from  all  parts  of  the  world  came 
then  to  the  Western  Pacific  coast  to  load  up  this 
valuable  manure.  The  selling  price  at  home,  com- 
pared with  the  purchasing  price  at  Callao,  must  have 
left  immense  profits  to  the  shipowners.  Callao  is  not 
a  beautiful  place.  It  may  be  summed  up  as  being 
very  dirty,  unadorned  and  over-populated.  In  fact,  it 
is  merely  the  seaport  of  Lima,  and  has  most  of  the 
characteristics  of  other  seaports.  The  prevailing 
colour  of  the  buildings  is  yellow.  The  population 
at  the  time  of  my  visit  was  about  20,000.  A  rail- 
way connects  it  with  Lima,  the  capital  of  Peru, 
distant  some  six  miles  from  the  coast.  Callao  has  so 
often  been  destroyed  by  earthquakes  and  tidal  waves 
that  one  is  sensible  of  an  uncomfortable  feeling 
whilst  in  the  town.  In  1746  what  is  known  as  Old 
Callao  was  almost  entirely  submerged.  .  Even  at 
anchor  in  the  roadstead  one  feels  that  the  entire 
visible  surroundings  lie  upon  a  slumbering  magazine 
which  at  any  moment  may  explode  and  blow  the 
whole  place  sky-high  without  notice.  Numerous 


64  THE  SHELLBACK. 

springs  containing  sulphuretted  hydrogen  bubble  up 
ceaselessly  out  of  the  water,  probably  from  the 
interior  of  some  dormant  submarine  volcano.  To 
say  the  least,  this  is  an  uncomfortable  state  of  affairs, 
and  I  was  not  sorry  when  our  ship  was  caulked  and 
ready  to  proceed  to  the  Chincha  Islands,  some  ninety 
miles  from  Callao. 

As  soon  as  a  vessel  has  reported  and  entered  at 
the  Customs  at  the  above  port  she  is  surveyed,  and, 
whether  staunch  and  tight  or  not,  she  has  to  be 
thoroughly  caulked — of  course,  I  speak  of  wooden 
ships.  A  red  mark  is  then  placed  on  her  side  by 
the  Peruvian  authorities,  showing  to  what  depth 
she  may  be  loaded.  This  is  a  very  necessary  pre- 
caution. Old  sailors  will  remember  what  leaky 
ships  used  to  cross  the  ocean  so  late  as  thirty-five 
years  ago.* 

Having  complied  with  all  necessary  formalities, 
we  hove  up  anchor  and  made  sail  for  the  guano 
islands.  A  dreary  beat  it  was,  the  wind  in  our  teeth 
the  whole  way.  We  made  very  slow  progress,  but 
still  we  succeeded  in  carrying  away  a  spar — this  time 
it  was  the  fore  topgallant  mast.  If  the  second  mate, 
who  was  in  charge  of  the  port  watch,  had  only  taken 
a  pull  on  the  weather  .topgallant  and  royal  braces 
in  time,  the  mishap  would  probably  not  have 
*  See  Note  III.,  p.  307. 


WE  LOSE  OUR  FIRST  MATE.  65 

occurred.  Barney  and  I  were  in  blissful  ignorance 
of  what  had  happened,  as  we  were  at  the  time 
sound  asleep  in  our  usual  camping  place.  The 
second  mate,  however,  had  us  out  in  time  to  let 
the  captain  know  that  it  was  six  bells  in  the  middle 
watch.  Nothing  further  worthy  of  note  occurred 
during  the  ten  days  this  little  trip  occupied  us,  and 
at  last,  after  the  longest  and  slowest  beat  I  ever 
remember,  we  sighted  a  forest  of  masts  and  three 
small  brown-looking  islands.  Then  we  knew  that  we 
had  reached  our  destination,  and  that  our  voyage  was 
over  for  several  months  to  come. 

We  sailed  slowly  up  to  our  indicated  anchorage, 
nearly  running  foul  of  the  guardship  in  doing  so. 
We  just  cleared  her,  and  let  go  the  anchor  about  a 
mile  from  the  nearest  island. 


66 


CHAPTER   V. 

WE   SHIP  A  YANKEE  MATE. 

As  soon  as  the  sails  were  furled  and  the  decks 
cleared  up  I  had  time  to  take  a  look  round.  It 
appeared  to  me  as  if  there  must  be  at  least  eight 
hundred  or  a  thousand  vessels  of  all  kinds  of  build, 
rig,  and  nationality  lying  around  us.  There  were 
men-of-war  of  different  nations — French,  British, 
American,  Peruvian,  Chilian,  German ;  there  were 
merchant  steamers  (these  were  in  the  minority),  full- 
rigged  ships,  barques,  brigs,  schooners,  brigantines, 
and  nearly  all  the  sailing  vessels  appeared  to  have 
the  whole  ship's  company's  oilskins  hung  out  to  dry, 
but  with  the  sleeves  missing.  I  subsequently  dis- 
covered that  these  were  sealskins.  The  Chincha 
Islands  abound  with  seals  and  sea-lions,  which  find 
splendid  camping  ground  on  the  rocky  shelves  and 
in  the  caverns  of  these  barren  islets. 

The  crews  of  the  ships  often  received  permission 
to  take  one  of  the  boats  on  Sundays  for  fishing 
purposes,  and  on  these  occasions  chasing  seals  was 
the  favourite  pastime.  It  was  very  hard  work,; 
though,  because  the  seals  used  to  swim  a  long  wayj 


WE  SHIP  A   YANKEE  MATE.  67 

under  water  before  coming  up  to  breathe,  and  the 
boat  had  to  be  pulled  rapidly  in  the  direction  where 
the  poor  beast  would  probably  rise.  It  was  very 
much  like  playing  at  whaling,  and  a  couple  of  hours 
often  elapsed  before  the  harpooner,  who  stood  in 
the  bow,  got  a  chance  to  throw  his  weapon.  Still, 
large  numbers  of  seals  were  captured,  and  their 
skins,  which  are  valuable,  could,  as  I  said,  be  seen 
in  all  directions  stretched  out  in  the  rigging  to 
dry. 

Before  going  any  further,  it  is  necessary  to  give 
a  short  description  of  the  islands.  Of  course,  their 
appearance  has  greatly  changed  since  I  was  there, 
but  the  rocks  have  probably  not  changed  their 
position,  unless  an  earthquake  has  swallowed  up  one 
or  all  of  them.  They  have  been  at  least  denuded 
of  their  deposits  of  guano,  as  I  find  that  in  1873 
only  11,684  tons  were  obtained,  and  in  1874  the 
population  had  dwindled  to  105.  The  intervening 
years  have  in  all  probability  seen  the  islands  once 
more  abandoned  to  the  sea-birds. 

There  are  three  principal  islands — the  North, 
Middle,  and  South  Islands,  situated  in  lat  13  deg. 
40  min.  S.,  and  long.  76  deg.  13  min.  W.  These 
rocky  islets,  which  are  of  volcanic  formation,  prin- 
cipally granite,  are  about  a  hundred  feet  in  height, 
and  in  1861  were  covered  with  a  solid  layer  of 


68  THE  SHELLBACK. 

guano  over  a  hundred  feet  thick.  The  North  Island 
at  the  time  I  was  there  had  a  population  of  some 
3,000  persons,  consisting  entirely  of  Government 
officials,  traders,  soldiers,  convicts,  and  others  in- 
terested in  the  guano  trade. 

The  houses  were  of  the  very  flimsiest  descrip- 
tion, as  no  provision  had  to  be  made  for  rain  or 
storms.  A  wooden  pier,  called  the  "Mole,"  ran 
out  for  some  distance,  for  the  convenience  of 
the  multifarious  boats  and  barges  which  were 
constantly  plying  between  the  ships  and  the  shore. 
Harbour  there  was  none;  the  vessels  lay  quite 
securely  anchored  in  the  deep  water  of  the  ever- 
calm  Pacific,  and  only  on  very  rare  occasions  was 
the  surface  of  the  sea  sufficiently  ruffled  to  prevent 
the  deeply  laden  barges  from  sweeping  off  with 
their  odoriferous  cargoes  to  the  ships. 

The  guano  has  the  appearance  of  light  brown 
earth,  and  emits  a  most  pungent  smell  This  is 
in  consequence  of  its  being  impregnated  strongly 
with  carbonate  of  ammonia  and  with  phosphates 
of  high  fertilising  power.  The  ammonia  occurs  in 
such  quantities  that  large  nodules  of  the  alkali 
may  be  found  scattered  thickly  through  the  earth. 
Humboldt  was  the  first  to  draw  attention  to  the 
value  of  the  deposits,  in  1804.  The  name  "  huano," 
which  we  term  "guano,"  is  a  word  signifying  in 


WE  SHIP  A   YANKEE  MATE.  69 

Spanish  "manure."  Since  Humboldt's  discovery 
much  discussion  has  arisen  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
vast  deposits,  which  existed  not  only  at  the 
Chinchas,  but  also  on  many  other  islands  and 
coast  tracts  of  Western  South  America.  Some 
said  it  was  volcanic,  others  that  it  was  an  organic 
deposit.  The  general  conclusion  now  accepted  is 
that  guano  is  the  deposit  of  birds  during  countless 
ages,  mixed  with  the  debris  of  fish  and  marine 
plants  which  formed  their  food.  If  this  be  so, 
and  there  seems  little  room  to  doubt  it,  the 
birds  must  have  been  far  more  plentiful  in 
primeval  times  than  they  were  in  my  day,  for 
the  few  marine  birds  which  nestled  amongst  the 
rocks  were  not  even  sufficiently  numerous  to  give 
life  to  the. scene — unless  pelicans  may  be  considered 
as  imparting  an  air  of  festivity  to  the  locality; 
these  were  very  numerous. 

However  this  may  be,  there  were  the  islands; 
there  was  the  guano,  and  there,  on  the  unruffled 
surface  of  the  broad  Pacific,  lay  hundreds  of  vessels 
busily  engaged  in  loading  up  the  precious  fertiliser. 

Its  commercial  value  depends,  amongst  other 
things,  upon  the  amount  of  decomposition  it  has 
been  subjected  to,  and  to  its  not  having  lost  any 
of  its  volatile  salts  by  the  agency  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, rain,  or  sea-water.  The  poorest  guano  is 


70  THE  SHELLBACK. 

that  which  has  parted  with  most  of  its  ammonia, 
and  contains  little  more  than  «the  earthy  phosphates 
of  the  alluvial  deposits  mixed  with  sand.  The 
proportion  of  ammonia  per  cent,  varies  from  7'3 
to  1 47  per  cent.,  and  its  agricultural  value  depends 
upon  the  quantities  of  ammonia,  soluble  and  in- 
soluble phosphates,  and  alkaline  salts  which  it 
contains.  The  greatest  quantity  ever  imported  into 
England  was  in  1870,  when  280,311  tons,  valued  at 
£1,500,000,  left  the  islands  for  Great  Britain.  It 
was  first  exported  in  1832,  and  in  1853  a  survey 
by  the  Peruvian  Government  showed  that  on  these 
islands  alone  12,376,100  tons  were  available.  Foreign 
export  was  closed  in  1872.  In  18(54  the  Spanish 
Admiral  Pinzon  seized  the  islands  to  compel  the 
Peruvian  Government  to  apologise  and  make 
amends  for  their  ill-treatment  of  the  immigrants 
from  Biscay.  The  profits  made  by  the  importers 
of  guano  at  that  time  must  have  been  considerable. 
I  do  not  profess  at  this  distant  date  to  be  correct 
in  my  figures,  but  I  think  the  amount  paid  to 
Peru  was  £1  10s.  per  ton,  and  freight  home  from 
£1  10s.  to  £2  per  ton,  and  as  it  was  usually 
greatly  adulterated  with  earthy  matter,  and  was 
sold  at  from  £15  to  £20  per  ton,  there  seems 
reason  to  suppose  that  someone  made  a  large 
profit  by  the  trade. 


WE  SHIP  A   YANKEE  MATE.  71 

From  base  to  summit  the  island  (North)  was 
divided  into  strips  about  six  feet  in  width,  running 
straight  to  the  top  of  the  deposit.  The  labourers 
—  generally  convicts  or  kidnapped  Chinese  —  had 
each  a  strip  to  himself.  As  he  dug  out  the  guano 
(which,  by  the  way,  often  required  blasting,  owing 
to  its  compactness),  he  allowed  it  to  roll  down  the 
hill  to  the  bottom  of  his  section.  A  narrow  wall 
separated  him  on  each  side  from  his  fellow-work- 
men, so  that  none  interfered  with  the  other.  At 
the  base  of  the  cuts  ran  a  tramway  carrying 
trollies.  As  fast  as  the  latter  were  loaded,  they 
were  drawn  to  a  short  jetty  provided  with  shoots, 
the  contents  were  tipped,  and  were  thus  discharged 
into  heavy  punts  carrying  from  thirty  to  ninety 
tons  each.  These  punts,  usually  worked  by  the 
sailors,  carried  the  guano  to  the  ships,  where  it 
was  taken  on  board  by  means  of  baskets  and 
whips  from  the  yardarrn.  The  first  part  of  the 
cargo — that  in  the  lower  hold — was  put  into  gunny 
bags  to  avoid  the  choking  of  the  pumps  in  case  of 
springing  a  leak,  which  would  naturally  happen  if 
it  were  tumbled  in  loose.  After  a  layer  or  two 
was  thus  stowed  the  baskets  were  emptied  into 
the  hold.  The  men  below,  who  trimmed  the  cargo, 
were  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  ammoniacal  dust, 
which  often  caused  the  blood  to  flow  from  the 


72  THE  SHELLBACK. 

ears  and  nostrils,  owing  to  its  extreme  pungency. 
For  this  reason,  all  the  men  wore  a  wad  of  oakum 
rolled  up  in  a  handkerchief,  tied  over  the  mouth 
and  nostrils.  The  loading  of  large  vessels  was  a 
tedious  affair  occupying  some  months.  Every 
vessel,  therefore,  proceeding  to  Callao  en  route  for 
the  Chincha  Islands,  was  allowed  a  certain  number 
of  what  are  called  "  laying  days."  The  number  of 
these  days  varied  according  to  the  size  of  the  ship. 

In  our  case  we  were  allowed  a  hundred  days. 
This  period  often  elapsed  before  an  ounce  of  guano 
could  be  got  on  board,  the  demand  being  greater 
than  the  facilities  for  supply.  Smaller  vessels  were 
better  off.  They  were  enabled  to  run  close  under 
the  rocks  of  the  South  Island,  where  long  canvas 
shoots  hung  over  the  precipices  a  hundred  feet 
above  sea-level.  The  shoots  were  passed  into  the 
vessel's  hold. 

Of  course,  they  were  securely  moored  fore  and 
aft,  and  secured  from  getting  too  near  the  rocks. 
The  trollies  tilted  their  cargoes  down  these  shoots, 
and  the  guano  was  thus  conveyed  directly  into 
the  hold. 

It  has  happened  on  more  than  one  occasion 
that  some  wretched  Chinaman,  tired  of  his  miser- 
able life  of  slavery,  has  deliberately  precipitated 
himself  down  a  shoot  in  company  with  a  load  of 


WE  SHIP  A   YANKEE  MATE.  73 

guano,  arriving,  of  course,  quite  dead,  having  been 
suffocated  by  the  guano. 

There  is  excellent  cod-fishing  close  to  the  rocks, 
and  we  often  had  an  opportunity  of  fishing  when 
the  captain  had  a  fancy  for  amusing  himself  in 
that  way.  Certainly  we  were  expected  to  open  the 
mussels  for  bait,  bait  the  captain's  hooks,  take  off 
his  fish,  disentangle  his  line,  and  perform  other 
little  offices  for  "  his  highness  " ;  but  nevertheless  we 
enjoyed  these  little  excursions. 

The  loss  we  boys  had  sustained  by  the  dismissal 
of  the  mate  has  already  been  mentioned.  In 
his  place  the  captain  now  shipped  a  very  hard- 
looking,  clean-shaven  American.  Our  first  inter- 
view with  him  struck  terror  into  our  hearts.  He 
was  not  one  of  the  low,  bullying,  half-Irish,  half- 
American  sort  of  men  who  are  called  "whitewashed 
Yankees."  He  did  not  curse  very  fluently,  nor 
did  he  do  what  Americans  are  erroneously  accused 
of  doing — talk  or  drawl  through  his  nose.  He  was 
rather  a  gentlemanly  man,  but  he  had  a  cruel- 
looking  face,  which,  we  thought,  betokened  a 
lurking  tiger  in  him.  He  came  off  in  a  shore- 
boat,  and  we  (that  is,  the  boys)  happened  to  be 
skylarking  about  the  quarter-deck,  and  took  very 
little  notice  of  him.  He  brought  us  up  with  a 
round  turn :  "  Do  all  you  boys  belong  to  the  ship  ? " 


74  THE  SHELLBACK. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  we. 

"  Well,  now,  I  just  want  you  to  take  a  good 
look  at  me.  Look  me  straight  in  the  eye,"  he 
went  on. 

We  began  to  suspect  that  this  was  a  new  mate, 
so  we  respectfully  gazed  at  him. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  you'll  know  me  again.  Do  I 
look  as  if  you  could  play  any  tricks  on  me,  eh  ? 
Do  I  look  as  if  I  could  chaw  you  up,  eh?  You 
bet  you've  got  to  toe  a  line  now.  My  name  isn't 
Dickens,  and  my  favourite  weapon  is  a  yoke-rope. 
That's  all  Where's  Mr.  Marshall  ? " 

It  was  quite  evident  that  the  captain  had  told 
him  all  about  poor  old  Dickens,  and  probably  had 
not  given  him  an  exalted  idea  of  Mr.  Marshall 
We  pointed  out  that  much-suffering  officer  to  him, 
and  were  diving  below,  when  he  called  out :  "  Come 
back  here.  I  don't  make  it  eight  bells  yet.  Just 
you  get  into  that  boat  and  clean  her  out  so  as 
you  could  eat  your  dinner  off  any  part  of  her. 
That'll  give  you  an  appetite.  Now,  Mr.  Marshall, 
sir." 

The  second  mate,  who  was  rather  surly-looking, 
slouched  up  to  him.  "  How  d'ye  do,  sir  ? "  said 
the  new  man.  "  My  name's  Williams.  I've  shipped 
as  mate  aboard  here  for  the  run  home,  and  I  just 
want  to  let  everybody  know  in  one  word — I'm 


M*DO    I    LOOK    AS    IF    I    COULD    CHAW    YOU    UP,    EH  .'  ;  ' 


WE  SHIP  A   YANKEE  MATE.  75 

smart,  and  I  expect  everybody  on  board  to  be 
smart.  I  hope  you  and  I  will  be  good  friends. 
Will  you  show  me  my  berth  ? " 

Mr.  Marshall  took  him  to  the  mate's  berth  in 
the  wheelhouse,  and  we  bobbed  over  the  side  and 
got  to  work  at  the  boat.  When  eight  bells  struck 
we  did  not  like  to  go  on  board  for  fear  of  the 
mate's  yoke-rope,  but  scarcely  had  the  last  double 
stroke  rung  out,  when  he  looked  over  the  side  and 

called  out,  "  Now   you  boys !   I  s'pose    you're 

so  fond  of  work  you  could  lie  down  and  go  to 
sleep  alongside  of  it.  Come  on  deck  and  go  to 
dinner." 

So  up  we  came  and  went  down  to  our  berth,  to 
dine  and  discuss  the  new  mate.  Somehow,  we 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  would  not  prove 
such  a  Tartar  as  he  gave  himself  out  to  be,  and 
of  this  we  soon  had  proof. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  captain  found  out 
that,  although  the  new  mate's  credentials  might 
show  him  to  be  a  smart  seaman,  yet  he  was  not 
the  tool  he  wanted — he  was  not  enough  of  a 
bully,  and  hence  arose  a  dislike  for  him  in  the 
captain's  mind.  There  was  no  love  lost  on  the 
mate's  part  either,  and  at  last  to  such  a  pitch 
did  this  mutual  hatred  and  distrust  arrive  that 
neither  of  the  two  men  ever  walked  the  deck 


76  THE  SHELLBACK. 

without  loaded  revolvers  being  concealed  somewhere 
about  their  persons.  They  seldom  exchanged  a 
word  with  each  other,  save  the  few  words  necessary 
to  carry  on  the  ship's  duty.  The  fact  was,  the 
captain  was  a  confirmed  bully  and  tyrant.  He  was 
now  in  waters  where  complaint  to  any  authorities 
on  the  men's  part  would  be  almost  useless,  and  he 
meant  to  show  the  cloven  hoof.  But,  although 
he  made  the  bullets,  he  wanted  a  coadjutor  to  fire 
them,  and  Mr.  Williams,  our  new  mate,  was  not 
savage  enough  to  carry  out  the  captain's  tyrannical 
ideas.  I  may  give  one  small  instance  of  this  in  my 
own  person. 

One  Sunday  morning  the  mate  called  me  out 
of  my  bunk  (we  had  no  hammocks  in  this  ship) 

to  come  on  deck.     I  went  up  and  found  I  was  to 

1 
receive    a    dozen    with    a   rope's    end    for    leaving 

the  boat's  tiller  athwart  ship  on  the  gunwales, 
instead  of  laying  it  fore-and-aft  in  the  stern- 
sheets. 

"  I'm  very  sorry,  boy,  to  have  to  '  lash  '  you 
down  for  such  a  trifle,  but  the  old  man  says  it's 
got  to  be  done,  and  I  reckon,  if  I  do  it,  you'll  come 
off  better  than  if  he  lays  it  on.  Now,  how'll  you 
take  it  —  like  a  man  at  the  capstan,  or  must  I 
seize  you  up  in  the  mizzen  rigging?" 

I  elected  to  play  the  man,  and  the  executioner 


WE  SHIP  A   YANKEE  MATE.  77 

took  his  favourite  weapon,  his  yoke-rope.     I  was  to 
be  the  first  to  try  its  virtues. 

Now  let  me  describe  this  instrument  of  torture. 
It  is  about  six  feet  long,  nicely  wormed  (that  is,  a 
piece  of  line  is  twisted  round  it,  filling  up  the 
groove  between  the  strands).  At  one  end  is  a  man- 
rope  or  rose-knot,  about  the  size  of  an  average 
apple.  At  the  other  end  it  is  prettily  pointed, 
a  method  of  finishing  off  the  ends  of  fancy  ropes 
which  I  have  described  in  the  Appendix  (p.  319). 
There  are  one  or  two  pretty  little  rings  called 
"  Turks'  heads"  worked  on  to  it.  Finally  it  is 
painted  white ;  the  knot  point  and  Turks'  heads,  blue. 
Its  legitimate  use,  as  most  people  know,  is  to  steer 
a  boat  when  a  rudder  head  but  no  tiller  is  used. 

But  the  mate  had  found  another  use  for  it, 
and  I  was  about  to  ascertain  by  practical  experience 
whether  that  new  use  was  one  to  be  condemned  as 
unpleasant  or  otherwise. 

Accordingly  I  leaned  my  arms  against  the 
capstan,  and  Mr.  Williams  whirled  the  rope  through 
the  air  with  a  vicious  energy  that  made  it  whistle  as 
it  revolved.  The  first  blow  felL  I  thought  he  had 
dropped  it  gently  on  my  back  just  to  measure  his 
distance,  but  the  next  blow  would  barely  have 
killed  a  fly.  I  smiled  pleasantly  as  the  rope 
screamed  through  the  air  and  fell  harmlessly  nine 


78  THE  SHELLBACK. 

times.  I  had  just  come  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
yoke-rope  in  the  mate's  hands  was  rather  an 
amusing  toy,  when,  as  ill-luck  would  have  it,  the 
captain  appeared  on  deck. 

"  Lay  it   into   the    young  scoundrel,    Mr. 

Williams !  Lay  it  on  hot !  I'll  teach  him  how  to 
risk  the  loss  of  the  owner's  property.  Cut  his 
back  off!" 

So  quoth  the  gentle  skipper.  Much  against  his 
will,  the  mate  swung  the  rope  round  his  head,  and 
it  descended  whistling  on  my  back. 

"  Great  Caesar's  ghost ! "  I  exclaimed  as  the 
awful  lash  caught  me  round  the  ribs.  And  there 
were  yet  two  more  to  come.  The  captain  stood 
looking  on,  and  I  set  my  teeth  tight.  Down  came 
another.  I  felt  as  if  I  was  cut  in  two.  The  last 
was  enough.  I  should  have  screamed  with  pain,  I 
think,  had  there  been  more  to  follow. 

"  Now  go  below,  you,"  he  said.      "  Next 

time  I'll  strip  you  and  give  you  five  dozen." 

Then  followed  a  shower  of  blasphemy,  amidst 
which  I  escaped  below.  Down  into  the  berth  I 
went,  to  plot  mutiny,  murder,  arson,  or  suicide.  I 
was  in  a  towering  rage  at  the  disgrace.  I  expected 
all  hands  to  rise  and  avenge  the  insult  I  had  re- 
ceived. But  the  other  fellows  only  laughed  and  said : 


WE  SHIP  A  YANKEE  MATE.  79 

"  Wait  a  bit.  That's  only  the  old  man's  fua 
Somebody's  got  to  be  killed  aboard  here  yet." 

So  I  swallowed  my  wrath  and  my  breakfast 
and  elected  to  wait.  I  determined  that  this 
should  be  both  the  first  and  the  last  time  that 
captain  or  mate  should  lay  a  hand  on  ma 


8o 


CHAPTER  VL 

A    TASTE    OF    THE    CAT. 

ON  the  24th  of  June  we  received  the  welcome 
intelligence  that  we  were  to  get  our  first  barge- % 
load  of  guano.  One  load  a  day  was  to  be  our  first 
allowance  to  enable  us  to  begin  loading.  Whilst 
waiting  for  our  cargo  we  had  not  been  idle.  All  the 
sails  had  been  unbent  and  stowed  away  in  the  sail 
locker,  all  useless  rafHe  was  cleared  away,  the  pumps 
had  been  well  cased-in,  and  we  had  got  rid  of  our 
stone  ballast.  There  used  to  be  a  law  that  no 
vessels  were  to  discharge  their  ballast  into  the 
harbour,  if  the  open  roadstead  could  be  called  a 
harbour.  This  regulation  was  doubtless  meant  to 
prevent  the  filling  up  of  the  anchorage  by  the 
millions  of  tons  of  sand,  gravel,  and  stone  which 
would  be  thrown  overboard  by  the  vast  fleet  of 
vessels  which  were  daily  arriving  in  ballast. 

How  the  Peruvian  Government  could  imagine 
that  any  number  of  vessels  could  fill  up  a  depth  of 
from  ninety  to  a  hundred  fathoms  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  to  the  shoaling  point,  I  cannot  say,  but 
what  I  do  know  is,  that  every  ship  merrily  tumbled 


A  TASTE  OP  THE  CAT.  81 

its  ballast  into  the  sea  day  after  day  till  the  hold 
was  empty,  and  nobody  seemed  to  be  a  bit  the  wiser. 
We  got  ours  over  the  side  very  soon,  and  now 
hauled  into  our  loading  berth,  which  was  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  mole. 

It  so  happened  that  we  had  a  pretty  idle  day 
previous  to  this.  All  odds  and  ends  of  rope  had 
been  picked  into  oakum,  all  the  old  rope  yarns 
had  been  made  into  "sinnit,"  all  the  waste  Manila 
worked  into  thrummed  mats,  the  brasswork  was 
bright,  the  decks  holystoned,  masts  scraped — what 
could  a  poor  skipper  invent  to  avoid  giving  the  crew 
a  spell  ? 

Every  seaman  was  getting  £4  a  month,  every 
boy  £2.  How  could  a  conscientious  captain  save 
his  owners  from  being  robbed  of  a  day's  pay  all 
round  ? 

By  Jove  I  Happy  thought !  The  hold  was 
cleared  out — the  bolt-heads  could  be  polished! 

The  next  thing  we  heard  was — 

"  All  hands  into  the  lower  hold ! " 

Down  we  all  tumbled,  and  each  man  was  pro- 
vided with  an  iron  bolt,  with  orders  to  pound  the 
rust  off  every  bolt  in  the  timber  and  scrub  them 
with  sand  and  canvas!  A  hold  that  was  next  day 
to  receive  a  cargo  of  damp  earth  ! 

But  there  was  no  help  for  it  The  men  cursed 
Q 


82  THE  SHELLBACK. 

and  tapped  and  hammered,  swore  and  growled,  and 
the  ship  resembled  an  iron-founder's  yard  when 
boilers  are  being  riveted  together. 

Next  day  the  boatswain  and  a  crew  went  off 
to  the  mole  to  take  possession  of  a  large  punt 
which  had  been  assigned  to  us,  and  in  due  time 
came  off  with  a  heavy  load  of  bagged  guano. 
Of  course,  we  were  all  anxiety  to  get  the  first 
pickings  out  of  the  bags,  so  we  boys  swung  ourselves 
down  into  the  punt  and  were  busy  ripping  open 
the  bags  and  letting  out  their  contents,  when  the 
boatswain  suggested  our  going  into  the  hold,  where 
it  would  be  all  scattered  about,  and  the  ammonia 
nuggets  ready  to  pick  up. 

We  confidingly  did  so,  and  by-and-by  down  came 
bag  after  bag.  A  terrific  cloud  of  dust  arose. 
Choking  and  half-suffocated,  we  fled  on  deck,  only  to 
be  received  with  diabolical  chuckles  from  the  fiend- 
ish boatswain  and  his  crew.  After  this  experience 
we  became  more  careful,  and  obtained  plenty  of 
ammonia  Before  the  ship  was  filled,  every  man 
on  board  must  have  hkd  from  a  dozen  to  three 
dozen  fruit-  and  pickle-bottles  full  of  it 

We  used  to  go  ashore  every  morning  to  fetch 
down  beef  and  vegetables,  and  several  times  we  had 
an  opportunity  of  slipping  away  to  the  workings, 
where,  in  exchange  for  a  piece  of  pork,  we  could 


A  TASTE  OP  THE  CAT.  83 

often  obtain  fine  white  specimens.  Of  course,  the 
diggers  were  not  allowed  to  make  away  with  any, 
but  nevertheless  it  was  constantly  done.  We  would 
take  a  nice  bit  of  Irish  pork  of  about  two  pounds' 
weight  (surreptitiously  abstracted  from  the  harness- 
cask,  whenever  we  could  find  it  unlocked).  With 
this  wrapped  in  a  handkerchief,  we  would  walk  along 
the  tramway  and  begin  running  along  the  rails. 
By-and-by  one  of  the  Chinamen  would  give  us  a 
signal  meaning  that  he  had  some  ammonia.  We 
then  played  about  near  the  man,  dropped  the 
handkerchief  containing  the  pork,  and  passed  on. 
Soon  afterwards  we  came  back  and  the  man  would 
call  out:  "Sailor-boy!  hi!  Hanklech'f  b'longee 
you?" 

We,  of  course,  claimed  the  handkerchief,  and 
usually  found  in  it  a  fine  white  nodule  of  ammonia, 
weighing  perhaps  a  pound  or  two. 

I  never  saw  such  a  place  for  mackerel  as  the 
seas  round  the  Chincha  Islands.  The  fish  swarmed 
in  all  directions.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
sometimes  the  calm  surface  was  ruffled  by  millions 
of  them.  Every  now  and  then  there  would  be  a 
rush — the  water  was  lashed  into  foam  for  several 
yards  round,  and  the  fish  disappeared.  This  meant 
seals,  and  in  a  minute  or  two  half  a  dozen  black 
flat  heads  emerged  shining  from  the  water  with  a 


84  THE  SHELLBACK. 

prolonged  "pouf"  as  the  seal  rose  to  breathe,  and 
every  mouth  held  a  mackerel. 

At  night  the  effect  was  marvellous,  owing  to 
the  wonderful  luminosity  of  the  water.  The  sea 
teems  with  small  medusae,  whose  phosphorescence 
is  given  out  as  the  fish  and  seals  dash  through 
them.  It  was  like  an  exhibition  of  fireworks. 

As  for  the  method  of  catching  the  mackerel, 
it  could  scarcely  be  called  fishing.  We  simply 
threw  out  hooks  baited  with  a  piece  of  red  rag, 
and  hauled  them  in  by  hundreds.  Another  way 
was  to  solder  three  hooks  into  a  piece  of  lead  and 
throw  the  contrivance,  at  the  end  of  a  line,  into 
a  school  of  fish.  Then  we  "jigged"  them,  often 
catching  three  at  a  time.  At  last  it  became  a  case 
of  toujours  perdrix.  However  much  we  enjoyed 
the  fish  at  first,  we  got  tired  of  them,  and  they 
were  condemned  as  unfit  for  human  food ;  besides, 
they  helped  to  save  the  ship's  rations,  which  was 
not  to  be  tolerated.  Luckily,  the  captain  dis- 
covered rock-cod  near  the  shore,  and  as  he  now 
kept  away  from  the  dirt  and  smell  of  the  ship  as 
much  as  possible,  we  were  always  either  cod- 
fishing,  shooting,  boat-racing,  or  picnicking  on  the 
mainland. 

One  of  the  great  events  of  this  monotonous  life 
was  to  attend  the  departure  of  a  loaded  vessel 


A  TASTE  OF  THE  CAT.  85 

On     these     farewell     occasions    numbers    of    boats 
crowded  round  the  happy  ship.     The  captains  went 
on  board  and  hob-nobbed,  the    crews  remained    in 
the   boats  and  were  either    pulled    or  towed   along 
for  two  or  three  miles.     Then  the  red-faced  skippers, 
full  of  whisky  and  excitement,  rolled  up  from  the 
cabin  and  jumped   into  their  respective  boats.      A 
farewell    hurrah    was    given     for    those    homeward 
bound,   who   responded  lustily,   and    then   began   a 
mad    race    "home."       On    one    occasion    we    won 
a    long    race     against    twenty    other     boats.       All 
the    way    the    captain    cursed     and    swore    at    us, 
promising  us    all  the  penalties    in  his    code    if  we 
lost.      Heavy  bets    were     always    made    on    these 
races,    and    he,    in    common    with     all    the    other 
masters,  had  bet   largely  on  his    own    boat.      How 
he  expected  us   to  bring  in  his   heavy  quarter-boat 
ahead  of  any  of  the  smart   gigs   competing   against 
us    I   cannot   conceive,   much    less    how    he    could 
have   the   folly  to   bet   as   heavily  as  we   heard  he 
had    done.     However,    much    as    we    should    have 
liked  to  see  the  captain  crawling  home  at  the  tail 
of  the   race,  we   had   our  own   honour   to  think  o£ 
We  did  not  wish  to  be  chaffed  by  all  our  friends 
on    the    other   ships,  so  we   laid   our   backs  into  it 
and  pulled   our  hardest.     We  were   all  strong  men 
and  in  good   training,  and  the   way  we   made   that 


86  THE  SHELLBACK. 

tub  of  a  boat  jump  must  have  made  it  wonder 
what  was  happening.  Gradually  we  drew  ahead ; 
the  captain,  now  frantic  with  excitement,  was 
yelling  and  swearing,  every  now  and  then  shouting : 
"  Givie  it  her,  lads ! "  "  Now  then,  shake  her  up 
lively.  Pull,  you  devils,  pull!  Rip  the  guts  out  of 
her!"  and  so  on.  The  other  captains  were  equally 
noisy,  and  the  boats  flew  across  the  water.  But 
we  determined  to  die  before  we  would  be  beaten. 
We  were  ahead  and  meant  to  keep  there,  and  keep 
there  we  did.  We  reached  the  gangway  just  as 
the  boat  belonging  to  the  next  ship  had  crept  up 
to  our  stern.  We  were  dead-beat  with  this  tremen- 
dous pull,  but  the  captain's  only  acknowledgment 

was  to  d our  eyes  for  a  lot  of  British  "sojers," 

and  to  turn  us  at  once  to  work  till  knock-off  time. 

About  this  period  it  seemed  as  if  the  vials  of 
his  spleen  were  full  to  overflowing.  He  gave  us  a 
sample  of  his  ferocity  the  very  day  after  the  race. 

There  had  been  a  grand  ball  that  night  on 
board  the  American  ship  Napier,  in  honour  of 'the 
officers  of  an  American  man-of-war,  Wyoming, 
which  had  just  arrived  on  the  station.  Musicians 
for  the  orchestra  had  been  sought  for  all  round 
the  merchant  fleet,  and  the  only  available  talent 
was  iound  in  me  and  the  mate  of  the  American 
ship  West  Wind.  We  were  requested  to  give  our 


A  TASTE  OP  THE  CAT.  87 

services,  and  after  I  had  given  my  captain  a  speci- 
men of  sundry  pieces  of  dance  music,  I  was  ordered 
to  go  on  board  the  Napier  with  my  violin  at 
eight  p.m.  On  arrival,  I  was  installed  with  my 
brother  in  affliction  on  an  improvised  dais.  We 
tuned  our  fiddles  and  compared  notes  as  to  what 
we  knew.  Soon  quadrille  sets  were  formed,  and 
we  were  ordered  to  pipe  away.  We  got  through 
the  quadrille  beautifully,  and  the  dancers  voted 
the  music  excellent.  The  succeeding  dances — 
polka,  schottische,  galop,  and  waltz — went  fairly 
well.  By  -  and  -  by,  a  mazurka  was  called.  I 
remembered  half  a  one — my  fellow-fiddler  nothing 
at  all  However,  I  boldly  struck  up  the  first  few 
bars,  and  my  assistant  manfully  played  a  second 
to  me.  Then  we  tried  giving  the  first  bars  over 
again,  but  it  would  not  do.  Cries  of  "Go  on! 
go  on  1  Give  us  the  rest ! "  arose ;  so  we  improvised 
some  diabolical  noises  purporting  to  be  a  mazurka, 
but  which  had  nothing  but  the  time  to  recommend 
them  to  the  ear  as  a  dance  of  any  description. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  sympathising  air  with 
which  one  of  the  naval  officers  came  to  me  and 
said,  "  I  think,  my  lad,  you  must  be  tired.  You 
and  your  friend  had  better  come  and  get  some 
refreshment." 

He  took  us  to  the  supper-room,  and  we  had  a 


88  THE  SHELLBACK. 

first-class  supper  and  some  champagne.  After  this 
we  got  on  better,  till  it  came  to  the  Sir  Roger 
de  Coverley.  There  we  drew  the  line.  We  utterly 
broke  down,  and,  despite  all  entreaties,  we  retired 
to  the  supper-room  till  it  was  time  to  take  our 
sleepy,  quarrelsome  captain  home. 

Next  day,  the  unhappy  boys  who  had  been 
sitting  all  night  in  the  boat,  and  I  who  had  been 
fiddling  all  night,  were  ordered  on  deck  at  the 
usual  hour  of  six  a.m.  Dropping  with  sleep,  I  did 
not  get  on  deck  as  soon  as  the  others.  It  appeared 
they  did  not  turn  to,  but  hung  about  watching 
the  carpenter,  who  was  at  work  on  a  new  fore- 
royal  yard.  The  second  mate  bullied  them  for 
idling;  they  retorted,  and  he  knocked  one  of  them 
down.  Barney  and  Wilkinson  immediately  picked 
up  a  piece  of  wood  each  and  rushed  at  the  officer, 
when  a  regular  tussle  ensued,  in  the  midst  of 
which  the  captain  appeared  on  deck.  I  emerged 
from  our  berth  at  the  same  moment.  The  boys 
dropped  the  wood,  and  the  second  mate,  like  a 
good  fellow,  tried  to  screen  the  boys.  But  it  was 
too  good  a  chance  for  the  exercise  of  a  piece  of 
cruelty,  and  our  gentle  chief  could  not  allow  it  to 
slip.  He  first  flew,  at  the  second  mate,  caught 
him  by  the  throat,  and  shook  him  as  a  terrier 
shakes  a  rat.  "You  infernal  son  of  a  sea- 


A   TASTE  OP  THE  CAT.  89 

cook !  You  no  man  sailor,  you !  D you,  I've 

a  mind  to  break  your face  off  you,  you 

sojer!  Call  yourself  a  sailor  or  an  officer,  and  let 

two boys  lick  you!  Go  for  the  irons,  or  by 

I'll  trice  you  up  to  the  spanker  boom  and 

kick  you  overboard  afterwards.  Now,  stir  yourself, 
you  no  man — you  hound  ! " 

The  poor  man  said  nothing,  but  brought  the 
irons  and  put  them  on  the  boys'  wrists.  Their 
shirts  had  already  been  removed.  The  third  mate 
was  ordered  to  seize  them  up  in  the  mizzen  rigging. 
This  officer  was  an  Englishman,  and  very  kind  to 
the  boys.  He  berthed  with  us,  and  we  had 
good  reason  to  like  him.  He  got  a  couple  of  ear- 
ings,  passed  them  round  the  handcuffs,  and 
proceeded  to  tie  them  up;  but  his  mode  of  going 
to  work  was  far  too  gentle  for  our  fiendish  captain. 
He  threw  him  on  one  side,  cursing  him  for  a  useless 
loblolly  boy,  only  fit  for  a  canal  boat,  seized  the 
earing  and  posted  it  high  up  over  a  ratline,  jammed 
his  knee  into  the  boy's  back,  and  hauled  taut  on  the 
earing,  so  that  the  lad  was  stretched  to  the  utmost 
He  then  tied  his  legs  to  bolts  on  the  deck,  and  poor 
Barney  was  ready  for  the  sacrifice. 

The  brute  now  took  off  his  coat  and  waistcoat, 
took  a  yoke-rope,  and  lashed  the  boy's  fair  white  back, 
rising  and  swinging  half  round  to  get  in  a  heavier 


90  THE  SHELLBACK. 

stroke.  When  the  first  cruel  lash  fell,  the  poor 
lad  cried  out: 

"Oh,  Mary!    Oh,  Mother  of  Mercy!" 

"Mother  of  Mercy,  eh?"  foamed  the  captain. 
"Pray  to  me,  you  young  son  of  an  Irish  swine. 
I'm  the  father  and  mother  of  mercy  in  one, 
and  this  is  the  mercy  you'll  get ! "  Down  came 
the  awful  weapon  again  on  the  unfortunate 
screaming  victim.  Six  times  it  fell,  and  the  boy's 
back  was  raised  in  six  great  black-and-blue  wales. 
The  inhuman  monster  rested  for  a  bit,  and  then 
went  at  it  again  with  a  relish.  The  next  six  strokes 
cut  through  the  flesh,  and  the  blood  streamed  in 
small  black  rivulets  from  his  back  "There/'  said 
the  captain,  "you'll  do.  Cast  him  off,  Mr.  See, 
and  trice  up  Wilkinson."  The  latter  was  at  once 
seized  up  in  the  same  fashion,  and  suffered  the 
same  awful  torture. 

One  would  have  thought  that  the  infernal  skipper 
would  be  satisfied  with  this  cruel  punishment,  but  he 
was  only  suffering  for  fresh  victims.  He  turned 

to  me  and  Sharpe  :  "  Were  you  two  in  it  ?  D 

you,  were  you  ?  Speak  up,  you young  whelps, 

or  I'll  cut  your  livers  out ! " 

He  got  us  both  by  the  hair  and  knocked  our 
heads  so  violently  together  that  I  thought  my  skull 
was  cracked. 


A  TASTE  OF  THE  CAT.  91 

He  longed  to  tie  us  up;  but  the  second  mate, 
braving  the  captain's  rage,  said: 

"  No,  Captain  Barton,  they  were  not  in  it ;  and 
allow  me  to  say  you  have  done  an  unwarrantably 
cruel  thing,  which  will  be  brought  against  you, 

sir,  in  a  court  of  law,  if  ever  this  b y  vessel 

reaches  England.  I  shall  no  longer  stay  in  this 
ship,  and  I  demand  my  discharge." 

The  captain  was  speechless  for  a  moment.  To 
think  that  a  mere  second  mate,  and  he  only  a 
Britisher,  should  dare  to  beard  him  on  his  own 
deck  in  this  bold  manner!  He  glared  at  Mr. 
Marshall,  feeling  at  the  same  time  in  his  pocket, 
probably  for  a  pistol,  which,  fortunately  for  both 
of  them,  was  not  there,  and  then  said :  "  Take  the 
young  hound  down.  You  want  your  discharge,  do 

you  ?  Yes,  you  shall  have  it  by ,  when  I've  done 

with  you.  You  have  sided  with  mutiny,  remember. 
You're  amenable  to  the  law.  I  never  forget.  I 
always  get  even  with  folks.  Send  those  two  to 
the  fore-  and  mainroyal  yards,  and  they'll  come 
down,  mind,  when  7  call  them — not  before." 

With  these  words,  the  captain  turned  and 
went  below.  Poor  Mr.  Marshall  was  very  much 
cut  up  at  this  result  of  his  bullying  the  boys.  But 
they  told  him  not  to  mind.  It  was  their  fault,  and 
he  did  his  best  to  save  them.  They  had  no  grudge 


92  THE  SHELLBACK. 

against  him,  and  thanked  him  for  his  bold  stand. 
This  happened  before  breakfast.  No  breakfast  was 
sent  to  the  two  sufferers,  so  I  went  to  the  cabin 
skylight  and  looked  down.  The  skipper  was  lying 
down  on  the  sofa,  reading.  I  called  Sharpe,  and  told 
him  to  keep  an  eye  on  him.  I  then  went  and  got 
some  beef  and  a  couple  of  good  large  boiled  "  batatas" 
and  some  biscuits,  made  two  parcels  of  them,  and 
bent  them  on  to  the  signal  halliards ;  I  also  included 
pipes,  tobacco,  and  matches.  These  two  bundles 
of  comfort  I  succeeded  in  running  up  to  them 
without  that  scoundrel  in  the  cabin  being  any  the 

wiser. 

i 

When  eight  bells  (noon)  was  struck,  I  thought  I 
would  try  the  old  man.  He  was  then  on  deck 
so  I  marched  up  to  him  and  said: 

"  Please,  sir,  may  I  take  up  a  bit  of  dinner  to 
the  masthead?  TheyVe  had  no  breakfast." 

No  answer.  By-and-by  he  walked  aft.  I 
called  after  him: 

"Did  you  say  I  might,  sir?" 

He  reached  the  cabin  stairs,  then  turned  round, 
and,  fitting  all  the  lurid  adjectives  he  could  get  out 
in  the  time  to  the  words  "young  fool,"  finished  by 
saying  I  might  have  done  it  without  asking. 

I  did  not  mind  his  swearing  a  bit,  so  I  ventured 
to  ask  if  I  might  call  them  down  to  dinner.  "  Call 


A  TASTE  OF  THE  CAT.  93 

them  to  hell,  if  you  like,  and  go  there  yourself!" 
was  the  gracious  answer. 

I  wanted  no  more.  I  told  Mr.  Marshall  what 
the  captain  had  said,  but  he  would  not  call  them 
down. 

"The  old  man  said  they  were  to  come  down 
when  he  called  them.  I've  had  hell  and  Tommy 
enough  for  one  day,"  he  growled. 

So  I  decided  to  call  them  down  in  the 
captain's  name.  I  went  and  stood  right  at  the 
open  skylight,  and  then  shouted: 

"Mastheads,  there!" 

"Ay,  ay!"  came  down.      "What's  up,  Riley?" 

"The  captain  says  you're  to  come  down." 

I  cocked  my  eye  down  the  skylight,  but  there 
was  no  sound  from  below. 

Barney  and  Wilkinson  came  crawling  down  and 
went  to  dinner.  We  dressed  their  lacerated  backs, 
but  it  was  some  time  before  they  got  over 
the  punishment.  The  captain,  however,  treated 
them  somewhat  better  after  this.  I  rather  think 
the  second  mate's  threat  of  a  court  of  law  had 
some  effect  on  him. 

I  had  now  had  personal  experience  of  a  rope's- 
ending.  I  had  seen  the  unhappy  Scouse  rope's- 
ended  time  and  again.  I  had  seen  men  knocked 
down,  kicked,  and  battered  with  belaying  pins; 


94  THE  SHELLBACK, 

but  this  was  the  first  time  I  had  witnessed  a 
regular  flogging.  It  was  not  to  be  the  last.  But 
I  there  and  then  mentally  determined  to  put  it 
out  of  the  captain's  power  to  inflict  such  a  dis- 
graceful and  brutalising  punishment  on  me. 


95 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE   ANCIENT  MARINER. 

THE  4th  of  July  now  came  round.  This  day  is 
always  celebrated  with  festivities  wherever  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  fly.  It  commemorates  the  great 
day  of  the  Declaration  of  the  Independence  of 
the  United  States.  Elaborate  preparations  were 
made  for  dressing  our  ship  in  all  the  available 
bunting  on  board. 

Lines  were  rove  from  the  taffrail  to  the  mizzen, 
main,  and  fore  trucks,  thence  to  the  flying  jib- 
boom  end  in  readiness  for  the  dressing  of  the 
ship.  At  sunrise  on  the  "  Glorious  Fourth "  she 
was  in  a  perfect  blaze  of  gay  colours,  streaming 
in  a  breeze  just  sufficient  to  display  them,  from 
fore  and  aft  and  aloft. 

All  hands  were  knocked  off  work;  liberty  was 
given  to  go  ashore,  and  grog  was  served  out  three 
times  instead  of  once.  We  had  two  twelve-pounder 
guns  on  board,  and  these  were  got  ready  for  a 
salute.  Cartridges  were  made  up;  the  second 
mate  was  placed  in  charge  of  one  gun,  the  third 
mate  looked  after  the  other.  The  captain  had  a 


96  THE  SHELLBACK. 

fancy  for  firing  ball  out  of  the  port  gun.  No 
ships  lay  in  that  direction,  so  there  was  no 
danger. 

At  the  appointed  time  all  hands  mustered  for 
the  firing  of  the  salute,  which  was  to  be  prolonged 
by  firing  at  forty-second  intervals.  We  boys  had 
charge  of  iron  rods,  which  we  heated  at  the  galley 
fire  and  brought  forward  as  required.  The  captain 
stood  by,  watch  in  hand.  With  him  were  the 
captains  of  the  Bridgewater,  Earl  of  Elgin,  and  of 
several  American  ships. 

At  the  proper  time  the  captain  sang  out: 

"All  ready,  starboard?" 

"All  ready,  sir!"  was  the  reply. 

"All  ready,  port?" 

"All  ready,  sir!" 

"Starboard!    Fire!"  came  the  command. 

Bang  went  the  starboard  gun,  the  white, 
sulphurous  smoke  blowing  away  to  leeward  and 
enveloping  the  admiring  crews  of  the  ships  lying 
in  that  direction. 

"Port!     Fire!" 

Bang  went  the  port  gun,  and  the  ball  howled 
through  the  air  and  ricochetted  several  times  on 
the  water.  It  was  magnificent. 

The  starboard  gun  was  again  duly  fired. 

The  port  gun  hung  fire. 


THE  ANCIENT  MARINER.  97 

"  Port !     Fire !     D you ! "  roared  the  captain. 

The  second  mate  poured  a  quarter  of  a  pound 
of  powder  on  the  vent-hole. 

"  Bring  a  white-hot  iron,  boy !     Quick ! "  he  said. 

"  Port  !  Fire  !  "  yelled  the  angry  captain. 

"  What  the 's  the  matter  ?  Are  you  gone  to 

sleep  ?  Fire  your  gun,  sir ! " 

The  second  mate  applied  the  heated  iron  to 
the  mass  of  priming,  which  fizzled  off,  but  no 
report  followed. 

The  captain's  rage  was  terrible.  He  had 
brought  a  party  of  ship-masters  and  shore  folk 
to  see  how  he  could  inaugurate  "  the  Fourth " — to 
show  off,  in  fact — and  this  was  the  result!  It  was 
maddening.  He  would  gladly  have  blown  the 
unfortunate  second  mate  from  the  gun.  But 
swearing  was  of  no  use.  The  salute  was  com- 
pleted with  the  starboard  gun,  and  then  the 
captain  and  his  visitors  inspected  the  port  gun. 
They  pushed  a  pricker  down  the  vent.  They 
poured  powder  down  it,  but  it  obstinately  refused 
to  go  off. 

At  last  the  English  captain  suggested  that 
perhaps  the  ball  had  been  rammed  in  first.  The 
wadhook  was  passed  down  the  muzzle,  and,  sure 
enough,  the  cartridge  was  withdrawn.  The  unhappy 

"  dicky "  had  rammed  home  the  ball  first ! 
E 


98  THE  SHELLBACK. 

There  was  a  general  titter.  This  in  itself  was 
more  than  enough  to  enrage  the  captain  still 
more. 

"  You  infernal  mugwump ! "  was  all  he  could 
get  out.  The  second  mate  growled  something 

about  not  being  a gunner,  which  speech  would 

have  brought  a  volcano  of  abuse  upon  him  from 
the  captain,  had  it  not  fortunately  happened  that 
some  more  visitors  arrived  to  breakfast.  So  he 
turned  away,  ordering  the  guns  to  be  secured,  and 
the  men  to  be  sent  aft  for  grog. 

After  breakfast,  the  boat  was  got  ready.  A 
mast  and  sails  were  put  into  her,  together  with 
baskets  of  provisions  and  liquors,  and  four  of  the 
Elgin's  boys  joined  us  four  in  pulling  her  over  to 
Pisco,  a  town  on  the  mainland,  about  twelve  miles 
from  the  Chinchas,  our  captain  and  two  others 
occupying  the  sternsheets.  It  was  a  beautiful  day, 
but  what  wind  there  was  was  against  us.  Still 
there  was  no  very  great  hardship  in  eight  hearty 
lads  pulling  twelve  miles.  But  our  merciless 
skipper  would  give  us  no  rest.  Every  now  and 
again  he  called  out : 

"  Pull,  you  young  dogs !  Pull  I  Lay  your  backs 
into  it!" 

He  kept  his  eye  on  each  of  us.  The  captain 
of  the  Elgin  suggested  we  should  have  a  spell,  and 


THE  ANCIENT  MARINER.  99 

something  to  wet  our  whistles.  He  even  got  out 
the  lemonade  basket,  and  a  couple  of  pannikins,  but 
our  amiable  gentleman  would  hear  of  nothing  but 
constant  bending  to  it. 

« D 'em !     what    right     have    they    to    be 

thirsty  ?  I'm  not  thirsty,"  he  said.  "  Let  'em 
drink  when  we  land." 

We  undoubtedly  were  thirsty,  and  we  were 
nearly  three  hours  getting  across,  during  which 
time  we  did  not  get  a  moment's  respite  from 
pulling.  I  thought  the  Englishman  would  have 
ordered  his  boys  to  rest,  but  I  suppose  he  concluded 
that  for  the  present  they  were  under  our  captain's 
orders,  so  they  suffered  as  well  as  we. 

As  soon  as  we  had  beached  the  boat  and  carried 
up  the  anchor  on  to  the  sand,  we  took  out  the 
provisions  and  brought  them  to  the  ground 
selected  for  the  picnic.  Then,  before  we  were 
allowed  anything  to  eat  or  drink,  we  were  sent 
up  to  the  town  to  order  down  pumpkins,  green 
corn  (cobs  of  unripe  maize),  and  other  vegetables. 
When  we  got  back  we  found  that  the  skippers 
had  finished  their  dinners,  and  we  were  told  to 
get  ours. 

Eight  hungry  lads  did  not  require  twice 
bidding,  so  we  sat  down  and  soon  made  a  tre- 
mendous hole  in  the  provisions.  Nothing  had  been 


ioo  THE  SHELLBACK. 

said  for  or  against  our  having  something  to  drink, 
but,  of  course,  we  intended  to  have  our  share. 
Waiting  till  the  chiefs  had  strolled  away,  we  opened 
four  bottles  of  ale  and  drank  our  own  healths  and 
bad  luck  and  confusion  to  all  Yankee  ships  and 
Yankee  skippers,  our  dear  Captain  Barton  being 
named  specially  in  connection  with  the  toast. 

By  -  and  -  by  we  saw  the  bags  of  pumpkins, 
etc.,  being  carried  down  to  the  end  of  the  pier. 
This  pier  was  a  splendid  iron  structure,  built  on 
screw  piles,  and  made  enormously  strong,  as  it  had 
to  resist  the  tremendous  Pacific  rollers  which  often 
swept  its  d°ck.  As  the  pier  was  very  long,  it  was 
provided  with  iron  shelters  at  intervals,  where 
passengers  crouched  when  a  roller  passed  over  it. 

As  ill-luck  would  have  it,  we  had  not  told  the 
people  in  the  town  to  bring  the  produce  down  to 
the  beach,  so  it  was  deposited  at  the  end  of  the 
pier.  Now,  the  only  way  to  get  it  was  to  pull 
the  boat  up  to  a  buoy,  which  was  moored  at  some 
distance  from  the  pier,  and  connected  with  it  by  a 
chain.  We  got  to  the  buoy,  then,  watching  a 
favourable  opportunity,  we  hauled  the  boat  swiftly 
to  the  steps,  ran  up,  bundled  a  bag  of  pumpkins 
into  the  boat,  and  hauled  off  to  the  buoy  again  to 
wait  till  the  big  rollers  had  passed,  when  we 
epeated  the  performance  till  all  the  bags  were  in 


THE  ANCIENT  MARINER.  ici 

the  boat.  We  ran  a  tremendous  risk  of  being 
dashed  to  pieces  against  the  pier — in  which  case  it 
would  have  been  all  over  with  us — but  we  managed 
successfully,  got  back  to  the  beach,  packed  up  the 
provisions,  and  received  a  tot  of  grog  each.  If 
the  ale  was  missed,  nothing  was  said  to  us  about  it. 
We  then  loaded  the  boat,  and,  as  the  wind  was 
favourable,  there  was  no  pulling  to  do.  The  sails 
were  hoisted,  and  we  sailed  pleasantly  back  in  two 
hours.  The  boat  was  then  unloaded,  hoisted  half- 
way up,  and  we  got  below  to  our  tea,  having  had 
a  rather  jolly  day  of  it,  if  the  outward  pull  is  put 
out  of  the  question. 

Next  day  we  were  set  to  work  at  the  guano. 
What  for,  we  had  no  idea.  We  were  supposed  to 
keep  ourselves  clean  and  tidy,  so  that  we  might  be 
ready  at  any  time  to  take  the  captain  ashore  or  to 
some  other  ship.  He  frequently  visited  other  cap- 
tains on  board  their  vessels,  and  always  gave  us,  on 
these  occasions,  strict  orders  not  to  leave  the  boat. 
Sometimes  he  would  go  to  dinner  on  board  a  ship 
a  couple  of  miles  away,  and  we  had  to  lie  alongside 
— often  till  after  midnight — whilst  he  was  enjoying 
himself  playing  cards,  smoking  and  drinking  in  the 
cabin.  But  he  had  not  the  smallest  regard  for 
our  comfort.  On  the  contrary,  the  more  uncomfort- 
able he  could  make  things  for  us,  the  better  he 


IDS  THE  SHELLBACK. 

was  pleased.  He  used  to  forbid  us  taking  a 
monkey-jacket  with  us  at  night  when  we  had  to 
wait  for  him,  and  sometimes  the  nights  were  chilly, 
whilst  the  dews  were  as  heavy  as  rain.  Our  only 
protection  was  the  ensign  which  was  laid  over  the 
after-seats. 

Whenever  we  went  on  board  the  Earl  of  Elgin 
we  had  rather  a  good  time.  The  apprentices  on 
that  ship  were  gentlemen's  sons  like  two  of  us. 
They  used  to  invite  us  into  their  berth  and  keep 
a  sharp  look  out  for  our  captain.  For  an  hour  or 
two  we  ate,  drank,  smoked,  sang  songs,  and  told 
yarns  until  discretion  warned  us  to  return  to  the 
boat.  There  was  one  especially  nice  lad  about 
fifteen  years  of  age  amongst  them.  He  was  very 
handsome,  with  aristocratic  features,  and  had  a 
beautiful  voice.  We  always  made  him  sing  a 
favourite  song  about  the  Australian  diggings,  which 
he  did  in  such  a  refined  manner  that  his  captain 
used  often  to  get  him  to  sing  in  the  cabin  when 
he  had  visitors  on  board.  He  was  a  charming 
little  fellow  to  be  thrown  into  the  midst  of  such  a 
rough,  blasphemous  crowd  as  the  Chincha  Island 
fleet  could  show.  I  often  wonder  where  he  is; 
whether  he  has  risen  to  command  or  remained 
before  the  mast,  or  whether  he  has  gone  where  all 
good  sailors  go.  I  have  been  in  a  dozen  ships 


THE  ANCIENT  MARINER.  103 

since  then,  but  never  fell  in  with  a  single  one  of 
my  old  shipmates. 

Whilst  we  were  loading  guano  our  captain 
relaxed  no  portion  of  the  work  of  ship-cleaning. 
Ships  were  there  which  never  washed  down  decks, 
sides,  or  rigging  except  on  Saturdays  and  Sunday 
mornings.  What  was  the  use  ?  The  planks  were 
scarcely  dry,  when  off  would  come  a  cargo  of 
guano.  The  first  few  basketfuls  sent  showers  of 
yellow  dust  all  over  the  decks,  where  it  was 
speedily  converted  into  mud,  and  they  might  just 
as  well  never  have  been  touched  at  all.  But  our 
captain  sent  the  ordinary  seamen  round  the  ship 
every  morning  in  the  stern  boat  to  scrub  the 
vessel's  sides.  The  decks  were  scrubbed  and  often 
holystoned,  rigging  was  washed  down,  and  scarcely 
was  this  work  finished  than  guano-loading  began, 
the  men  barely  having  time  for  breakfast. 

Before  we  left  the  island  Captain  Murphy,  of 
the  ship  Gipsy  Bride,  held  a  grand  regatta. 
There  were  sailing  races,  pulling  races,  tub  races, 
and  all  kinds  of  aquatic  sports.  The  men-of-war's 
boats  entered  for  some  of  the  events,  and  there 
was  a  capital  day's  sport,  marred  only  by  one 
accident.  A  boat  belonging  to  the  Athena'is  cap- 
sized, and  one  man  was  drowned. 

One  most  extraordinary  boat  entered  for  one  of 


IO4  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  races.  She  was  ancient  and  weatherbeaten, 
green  weed  grew  from  her  keel  to  her  water-line. 
The  oars  were  fished  and  the  blades  splintered 
and  held  together  with  bands  of  Muntz  metal. 
The  sides  were  tarred  instead  of  painted,  and  the 
tar  could  have  been  chopped  off,  so  thickly  had 
successive  tarrings  coated  the  ancient  craft.  The 
rudder-head  was  split,  and  was  lashed  together  by 
rope-yarns  to  keep  the  tiller  in  its  place.  The  crew 
consisted  of  four  aged,  careworn-looking  men  and  a 
weird,  wizened  boy,  who  crouched  in  the  stern- 
sheets  and  baled  incessantly.  This  wreck  belonged 
to  a  ship  in  the  harbour  called  The  Ancient 
Mariner.  Many  a  time  did  we  pull  round  that 
wonderful  fabric.  She  must  have  been  owned  by 
some  eccentric  individual  who  laid  down  her  lines 
on  an  idea  inspired  by  Coleridge's  poem.  Paint 
and  she  had  apparently  parted  company  years 
before.  Her  grey,  weatherbeaten  sides  gaped,  and 
the  oakum  hung  in  strips  from  the  seams.  Her 
rigging  was  slack  and  grey  for  want  of  tarring 
down,  the  braces  hung  loosely,  allowing  the  yards  to 
swing  about  and  point  anywhere.  She  had  a 
figurehead,  but  it  might  have  been  Britannia,  or 
Nelson,'  or  a  Unicorn,  for  all  an  observer  could 
tell,  so  broken  and  battered  was  it.  Altogether 
she  presented  the  most  perfect  picture  of  marine 


"SHE  ROUNDED  THE  BUOY  .  .  .  AND  CAME  IN  A  WINNEB." 


THE  ANCIENT  MARINER,  105 

desolation  I  have  ever  seen.  She  lay  isolated 
from  the  rest  of  the  ships,  and  had  such  a  repu- 
tation that  few  sailors  cared  to  pass  too  closely  to 
her  after  dark  All  sorts  of  stories  were  afloat 
concerning  her,  the  principal  idea  running  through 
all  of  them  being  that  she  was  haunted,  that  her 
crew  were  only  resuscitated  during  the  day,  being 
corpses  at  night.  Nobody  would  have  cared  to 
board  her  alone  at  midnight.  She  was  looked 
upon  as  a  stationary  Flying  Dutchman.  Not  an 
ounce  of  guano  was  ever  seen  to  go  into  her 
hold,  but  she  floated  deep  as  if  already  loaded 
and  ready  to  sail.  I  think  now  that  she  must 
have  been  detained  for  debt  and  afterwards  con- 
demned, for  never  could  she  have  been  taken 
round  the  Horn  in  ballast,  nor  could  she  even 
have  carried  a  cargo  to  Callao. 

Well,  the  old  boat  entered  for  a  pulling  race, 
and  the  four  old  spectres  solemnly  strained  at  the 
ancient,  dilapidated  oars.  Somehow  she  seemed  to 
keep  ahead.  The  boats  could  not  catch  up  to  her. 
Possibly  the  superstitious  crews  of  the  other  boats 
felt  a  creepy  sensation  at  approaching  her, 
and  did  not  lay  themselves  out  to  do  their 
best.  Certain  it  is  that  she  rounded  the  buoy 
ahead  of  the  rest,  and  came  in  a  winner  by 
several  lengths.  After  receiving  the  prize,  the 


106  THE  SHELLBACK. 

ghostly  boat  slipped  silently  away,  and  was  seen 
no  more  that  day.* 

We  continued  making  excursions  to  Pisco,  as 
it  formed  the  only  pleasant  change  from  the  dead 
monotony  of  guano-loading,  mackerel- catching,  and 
seal-hunting. 

On  one  of  our  trips  the  mate  of  the  Elgin 
went  some  distance  inland  with  his  gun.  On  his 
return,  we  saw  him  carrying  two  enormous  birds, 
which  he  told  us  were  bald-headed  eagles,  but  I 
think  they  were  condors.  He  was  a  very  tall,  stout 
man,  yet,  when  he  held  the  bird  over  his  head  by 
the  neck,  he  was  quite  hidden  in  the  enormous 
wings.  They  were  certainly  splendid  specimens,  and 
he  had  them  skinned  to  take  home  with  him.  I 
had  always  thought  that  these  birds  frequented 
the  highest  peaks  of  the  Andes,  and  was  much 
surprised  to  hear  that  he  had  shot  them  among  the 
low  hills  bordering  the  coast.  I  do  not  remember 
having  seen  any  sharks  about  the  islands.  We  used 
to  bathe  every  day  and  swim  out  some  distance 
from  the  ship,  but  no  one  was  ever  touched  by  a 
shark  I  had  a  rather  bad  scare  once,  though.  We 
were  all  swimming  one  evening,  when  someone  on 
board  sang  out :  "  Come  on  board  quick !  There's  a 
big  shark  coming  this  way."  We  all  struck  out 
*  Seo  Noi,e  IV.  p.,  307. 


THE  ANCIENT  MARINER.  107 

furiously  to  reach  the  ship.  The  only  means  of 
getting  on  boafd  on  this  side  of  the  ship  was  a 
Jacob's-ladder  hanging  from  the  guess-warp  boom. 
With  the  number  of  men  crowding  round  it,  I  saw 
I  had  no  chance,  so  I  swam  for  a  rope  I  saw  hanging 
over  the  side.  I  caught  hold  of  the  rope,  but  it  was 
covered  with  guano,  and  greasy  as  butter.  It  was 
quite  impossible  to  climb  up  by  it,  so  I  had  to  swim 
back  again  to  the  ladder,  and  as  the  men  were  now 
all  on  board,  my  chance  was  a  good  one,  providing 
the  shark  did  not  get  me  before  I  was  on  the  ladder. 
I  expected  every  moment  to  be  pulled  down.  But 
I  reached  the  ladder,  and  soon  hauled  myself  out 
of  danger.  I  saw  no  shark,  but  the  man  on  deck 
declared  it  was  one,  and  that  it  was  heading 
straight  for  the  ship. 

The  sea-lions  used  sometimes  to  be  aggressive, 
and  I  shall  never  forget  my  terror  when  bathing 
from  the  boat  near  the  rocks  one  day,  when  I 
came  up  from  a  dive  between  two  huge  ones.  They 
did  not  make  off,  but  I  did,  and  tumbled  head 
over  heels  into  the  boat.  When  we  pulled  away, 
these  curious  brutes  accompanied  us  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  an  hour.  We  could  easily  have  harpooned 
one,  if  we  had  had  the  necessary  tackle  in  the  boat. 


io8 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A     REIGN    OF    TERROR. 

Now  my  turn  came  for  being  worried  by  the  mate. 
It  caine  about  in  this  way.  The  captain  had  parted 
with  Mr.  Williams,  and  for  a  day  or  two  we  had 
no  mate,  and  everything  went  on  pleasantly  under 
Mr.  Marshall  (who  had  no  idea  of  getting  boys  or 
men  flogged  again  after  his  last  experience)  and 
Mr.  See,  the  third  mate.  The  captain  ordered  me 
one  day  to  put  my  best  "  toggery  "  on  and  go  ashore 
with  him.  I,  of  course,  pulled  my  oar  in  the  boat 
as  usual,  but  on  landing  at  the  mole,  he  took  me 
up  to  the  agent's  store,  gave  me  a  cigar  and  a 
drink,  and  told  me  to  wait.  He  went  away  and 
soon  returned,  accompanied  by  a  dapper  little  man, 
who  looked  quite  a  dwarf  beside  our  gigantic 
captain. 

When  they  came  in,  the  captain  asked  him  to 
"liquor  up,"  and  when  the  glasses  were  filled,  both 
lighted  cigars,  and  a  conversation  began  of  which 
I  only  heard  fragments. 

"Now,  Mr.  Sheman,"  the  captain  said  at  last, 
"you  can  make  up  your  mind.  Those  are  the  terms, 


A  REIGN  OF  TERROR.  109 

and  you  won't  beat  them.  Mates  hereabouts  are  as 
thick  as  blackberries  at  home.  If  you're  spry  and 
suit  me,  fifty  dollars  a  month ;  if  you  don't  suit, 
you  go  ashore  and  take  seaman's  wages." 

"Veil,  Capen  Barton,"  replied  the  little  man, 
"I  don't  shust  know  how  dot  vill  be.  Maybe, 
no  matter  vot  I  does,  you  says  to  me  ven  ve  gets 
home,  'Sheman,'  says  you,  'mine  goot  friend,  you 
vas  not  suit  me/  und  vot  den?  I  hev  done  de 
mate's  duty,  and  you  pays  me,  'cordin'  to  agreement, 
seaman's  vages,  und  I  cannot  get  righted,  because 
I  hev  sign  on  on  dem  terms.  No,  I  dinks  dot  von't 
suit  dis  chile  nohow,  capen." 

"  All  right,"  said  the  captain ;  "  then  we'll 
consider  the  thing  off  and  no  harm  done.  I  reckon 
it's  easy  enough  to  find  a  good  man  on  the  same 
terms." 

"  Here,  boy ! "  (to  me)  "  come  and  have  a  drink, 
and  then  take  those  parcels  to  the  boat.  This  is  one 
of  my  boys,  Mr.  Sheman.  He's  a  brother  of  the 
Melbourne  agent,  the  Prussian  Consul  there.  The 
lad's  going  to  sea  for  pleasure  and  to  wear  out  his 
old  clothes." 

"  Veil,  youngster,"  said  the  would-be,  or  rather 
wouldn't-be,  mate,  "  I  dinks  you  hev  a  good  ship 
und  a  goot  captain.'1  (Here  the  captain  tried  to 
look  lamblike.)  "But  I  also  dinks  dot  young 


no  THE  SHELLBACK. 

shentlemens  vot  goes  to  sea  for  bleasure  vould  go 
to  hell  for  pastime."  (Here  the  captain  looked 
black.) 

I  left  them  then  and  went  down  to  the  boat. 
It  was  quite  two  hours  before  the  captain  came 
down.  He  looked  pleased,  and  talked  a  good  deal 
to  us  whilst  we  were  pulling  off  to  the  ship.  Next 
morning,  to  my  surprise,  this  Mr.  Sheman  came  on 
board  with  his  traps.  He  had  evidently  changed 
his  mind  or  had  made  a  different  agreement  with 
the  captain  as  to  wages.  At  all  events,  -there  he 
was,  and  he  at  once  took  charge. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  began  to  show 
whether  he  would  suit  the  captain  or  not.  He  was 
looking  down  into  the  hold  from  the  maindeck 
when  he  saw  two  men  leaning  on  their  shovels. 

This  was  his  first  opportunity,  and  he  spread 
himself  for  action. 

He  first  sent  a  volley  of  mixed  Germano- Yankee 
blasphemy  at  the  men,  and  one  of  them,  not 
knowing  who  he  was,  taking  him  probably  for  the 
mate  of  some  other  ship,  growled  to  the  other : 

"  Who  the  have  we  got  here  ?  What's  this 

darned  Dutchman  got  to  do  with  us  ? " 

In  a  twinkling  the  little  monkey-like  mate 
was  down  amongst  them  with  a  knuckle-duster  on 
his  fist. 


A  REIGN  OF  TERROR.  in 

"  Til  show  you,  you  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  what  'dis  darned 
Dutchman1  has  got  to  do  with  you  !  You  dare 
open  your  beastly  mouth  to  look  of  me,  und  I 

break  it  off  your  oogly  vace,  you swine."  He 

then  jumped  at  the  man,  got  him  down  and  pounded 
his  face  with  the  knuckle-duster  till  the  man  was 
covered  with  blood.  He  then  kicked  him  all  over 
the  body,  picked  up  a  shovel,  and  knocked  him 
about  the  head  with  it,  and  finally  ordered  him  to 
turn  to  work,  or  he  would  do  for  him  and  the  rest 
of  the  crew. 

"  Mein  Gott !  I  vill  show  you  you  hev  a  man 
to  deal  wid — not  a  crawler."  He  walked  off  towards 
the  ladder,  not  deigning  to  look  behind  him,  and 
none  of  the  other  men  dared  offer  even  a  remark 
on  his  brutality.  When  he  got  on  deck,  he  saw 

me  looking  down  into  the  hold.  "Veil,  you 

young  skulker  !  Vot  might  you  be  doing  dere  ? 
I  shoost  vont  to  tell  you  somethings.  De  old  .mun 
told  me  yesterday  as  you  vas  a  shentleman.  NOT* 
mind  dis  —  /  hate  a  shentleman.  I  make  a 
shentleman  of  you!  By  Gott!  Ven  I  hev  done 
mit  you,  you  vill  be  the  sickest  shentlcanan  I  knows 
of.  You  vill  vish  you  vas  de  capen's  oat  Go  and 
get  a  tar-pot.  Off  mit  you,  or  I  start  you  dobble 
quick!" 

I  saw  that  if  he  was  to  be  the  mate  there  was 


ii2  THE  SHELLBACK. 

no  use  in  "  riling "  him,  so  I  went  to  the  locker 
and  got  a  tar-pot.  When  I  returned,  he  ordered 
me  to  tar  down  all  the  royal  backstays.  I  was,  as 
usual,  dressed  in  a  clean  white  shirt,  black  silk 
necktie,  and  had  my  go-to-meeting  shoes  on. 
I  merely  said  "  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  and  turned  to  go  down 
into  the  berth  to  change  my  clothes. 

He  jumped  at  me  like  a  wild  cat.  "  Vere  are 
you  going  ?  Vot  did  I  tell  you  to  do  ? " 

"  To  tar  down  the  royal  backstays,  sir,"  I  said, 
"  and  I  was  going  to  get  my  dungarees  *  on." 

"  Tunkarees  pe  tammed  ! "  he  cried.  "  Go  as  you 
are,  you  shentleman.  A  pretty  shentleman  you  vill 
look  ven  I  hev  worked  you  up  a  bit,  and  I  mean 
to, you  ! " 

It  was  rather  hard  to  ruin  my  good  clothes, 
but  refusal  to  go  aloft  would  have  been  madness. 
The  captain  himself  in  that  case  would  have 
backed  up  the  mate.  So  up  I  went. 

Now,  to  do  any  tarring  down  whilst  guano  was 
being  hoisted  on  board  was  a  simple  waste  of  tar, 
but  that  was  none  of  my  business,  so  up  I  went,  and 
began  at  the  main  royal  backstay.  I  had  been  at 
work  about  an  hour,  during  which  time  I  wasted  a 
quantity  of  tar  on  my  face  and  clothes,  when  I 

*  A  "  dungaree  "   suit  is  a  suit  of  light  blue  cotton  stuff,  much 
worn  "by  sailors  when  at  work. 


A  REIGN  OF  TERROR.  113 

saw  the  captain  come  on  deck,  and  managed  to 
hear  him  tell  the  mate  to  order  the  boat. 

"Hurrah!"  I  thought.  "Now  for  getting  that 
little  beast  into  a  row."  I  took  my  oakum  wad 
and  deliberately  painted  my  face,  shirt,  and  trousers 
with  tar.  My  hands  and  arms  were  already  dirty 
enough.  I  also  left  my  shoes  and  stockings  in 
the  topgallant  crosstrees,  and  painted  my  feet, 
especially  the  soles  of  them.  It  was  not  decent 
Stockholm  tar,  but  that  sickening  abomination 
coal-tar. 

By-and-by  the  mate  hailed  me: 

"Aloft,  there!" 

"Ay,  ay,  sir!"  I  sang  out,  in  reply. 

"Lay  down  from  aloft,"  came  back. 

Down  I  came. 

"Go  into  the  boat,"  he  snarled. 

I  tramped  over  the  nice  clean  quarter-deck, 
leaving  tarry  footprints  as  I  went.  The  mate  did 
not  notice  this,  as  he  was  looking  over  the  side, 
busy  swearing  at  the  other  boys.  I  ran  down  the 
ladder,  leaving  the  stamp  of  a  "shentleman"  every- 
where I  placed  my  hands  or  feet.  Over  each 
white  -  and  -  blue  thwart  I  walked  to  my  place. 
I  sat  down,  and,  as  I  pulled  stroke  oar,  I  would 
face  the  captain,  who  steered. 

I  could  feel  the  tar  clinging  to  the  seat, 
I 


ii4  THE  SHELLBACK. 

and  could  imagine  the  state  in  which  the  boat 
would  be. 

"Don't  grin,  you  fellows,"  I  said.  "I'm  trying 
to  get  that  devilish  little  mate  into  a  row."  So 
they  said  nothing. 

In  a  few  moments  down  came  the  captain. 
He  noticed  nothing  till  he  had  seated  himself  and 
faced  me.  It  was  all  I  could  do  to  keep  myself 
from  bursting  out  laughing  when  he  grasped  the 
situation,  and  at  the  thought  of  the  wonderful 
figure  I  must  cut.  He  first  turned  red,  then  he 
unshipped  the  tiller  and  swung  it  as  if  he  meant 
to  knock  me  overboard  with  it.  I  looked  quite 
solemn. 

At  last  he  gasped  out: 

"What  the do  you  mean,  you  infernal 

young  hound,  by  making  my  boat  in  such  a  

of  a  mess?" 

"  I  only  obeyed  orders,  sir,"  I  whimpered,  trying 
to  squeeze  out  a  few  crocodile  tears.  "I  didn't 
want  to  go  in  the  boat  before  I  changed  my 
clothes,  but  Mr.  Sheman  wouldn't  let  me  change- 
He  told  me  to  go  as  I  was,  and  be  d to  me." 

This,  of  course,  was  a  reversal  of  facts.  The 
mate  certainly  had  refused  to  allow  me  to  change, 
but  that  was  before  I  went  aloft,  when  he  told  me 
to  "  go  as  I  was."  But  the  mean  tyranny  of  such 


A  REIGN  OF  TERROR.  115 

fellows  as  he  compelled  his  victims  to  use  all  means 
for  their  own  defence. 

*  Oh !  the  mate  sent  you,  did  he  ?  Very  well ; 
keep  your  seat.  Shove  off;  give  way." 

We  all  knew  now  that  /  was  safe,  but  the 
captain  undoubtedly  had  something  up  his  sleeve 
for  the  mate. 

We  pulled  aboard  the  Sarah  M.t  and  then  to 
the  Minnehaha.  Here  the  captain  wrote  a  note  and 
gave  it  to  me  to  give  Mr.  Sheman  when  we  got 
back.  What  would  not  we  have  given  to  know 
what  was  in  that  note !  Had  it  been  unsealed  or 
only  gummed  together  we  could  have  managed  it, 
and  should  have  made  no  scruple  at  reading  it, 
because  we  simply  looked  upon  it  as  "despatches 
of  the  enemy"  legally  intercepted.  However,  we 
dare  not  break  the  sealing-wax,  so  we  pulled  on 
board.  I  went  up  the  side  and  gave  the  note  to 
the  mate.  He  opened  it,  read  it,  and  glanced 
viciously  at  me. 

"  I  suppose  I'm  to  go  on  with  tarring  down, 
sir?"  I  asked  demurely. 

"  Tarring  down,  be  ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Get 

below  und  glean  yourself,  you  dirty,  lying  yong ." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  I  said,  and  moved  off. 

"  Here !  coom  pack  here !  Vot  vos  dot  as  you 
said?"  he  shouted. 


n6  THE  SHELLBACK. 

"  Nothing,  sir,"  I  respectfully  replied. 

"Now  you  shoost  best  take  care  of  yourself,  I 
dell  you.  1  make  your  life  aboard  dis  ship  one  bad 
hell  for  you.  You  mind  me.  Go  und  dell  Johnston 
to  get  to  vork  und  glean  dot  poat." 

So  I  made  my  escape  below,  and  got  into  a  clean 
suit,  after  expending  a  couple  of  pounds  of  slush 
(fat)  in  getting  the  tar  off  my  skin.  Then  the 
little  fiend  set  us  to  work  knotting  rope-yarns. 

When  the  captain  came  back,  he  called  Mr. 
Sheman'into  the  cabin.  What  he  said  to  him  I 
do  not  know,  although  we  got  close  to  the  skylight 
and  listened  the  best  we  could,  but  for  a  few  days 
after  the  tar  episode  we  boys  had  a  fairly  peaceful 
time  of  it.  But  the  treatment  of  the  men  was  as 
bad  as  ever,  and  one  day  it  culminated  in  a  kind 
of  mutiny. 

There  was  a  barge-load  of  guano  alongside  which 
had  arrived  just  about  four  bells  (6  p.m.),  when 
the  men  were  always  knocked  off.  They  were  sent 
to  their  tea  at  the  usual  time,  but  as  they  went 
forward  the  mate  sang  out — 

"  You  no  need  to  glean  yourselves,  men ;  I  vant 
dot  bunt  emptied  to-night." 

Of  course,  there  were  thunderous  growls  from 
the  forecastle,  but  nothing  was  said  that  the  mate 
could  take  notice  of.  After  tea,  they  were  ordered 


A  REIGN  OF  TERROR.  117 

to  turn  to,  but  they  refused,  and  came  aft  in  a 
body,  demanding  to  see  the  captain.  The  latter 
came  on  deck  and  blandly  asked  them  what  they 
wanted. 

One  of  the  crew,  a  big,  red-headed  man  named 
Vaughan,  was  put  forward  as  spokesman. 

"Well,  it's  this  'ere  way,  Captain  Barton,  sir," 
he  said.  "We've  done  a  hard  day's  work  already, 
and  it  ain't  fair  to  ax  us  for  to  turn  to  and  unload 
that  there  barge  to-night.  There  ain't  no  sea  on, 
and  no  wind,  and  'tain't  likely  as  she'll  come  to 
any  grief.  We'll  tarn  to  at  four  bells  to-morrow,  but 
no  more  to-night.  We  ain't  no  Virginny  niggers." 

"  You  ain't  niggers,  ain't  you,  you  ?  Then, 

by  all  the  snakes  in  Virginny  111  make  niggers,  and 

a sight  worse  than  niggers  of  you.  I'll  drive 

you.  m  take  hell  out  of  you,  you  d set  of 

skulking  Dutchmen.  Turn  to, you,  or  111 

work  every  mother's  son  of  you  till  daylight,  and 
then  you'll  turn  to  at  four  bells.  I'll  make  you 
wish  you'd  never  been  born !  Turn  to,  d'ye  hear  ? " 
and  he  strode  up  to  Vaughan  with  his  fists  clenched. 
Vaughan  tore  off  his  dungaree  jacket  and  squared  up 
manfully  to  the  captain,  but  the  latter  was  an  old 
hand  at  this  game.  He  merely  said,  "Now,  Mr. 
Sheinan,  Mr.  Marshall,  Mr.  See,  give  'em  hell 

The  mates  had  already  armed  themselves  with 


n8  THE  SHELLBACK. 

belaying  pins,  and  the  little  Dutchman  advanced 
upon  Vaughan.  The  latter  turned  round  to  stop 
him,  and  as  he  did  so,  the  captain  dashed  his 
huge  fist  into  his  face  and  had  him  down  in  an 
instant.  He  jumped  on  to  his  body,  he  grasped 
his  throat  with  both  hands  till  the  man's  tongue 
protruded  and  he  was  black  in  the  face,  shouting 
to  the  second  mate  to  bring  the  irons. 

"  My  Gawd !  "  roared  Johnston ;  "  'e'U  'ave  Billy 
scragged  in  a  minute.  Stand  by,  you  hothers." 

Scarcely  had  he  uttered  the  words  when  the 
mate's  belaying  pin  came  crash  on  his  skull,  and 
the  wretched  cockney  convict  lay  stunned.  Both 
men  were  handcuffed  before  the  cowardly  crew  could 
make  up  their  minds  to  action.  Meanwhile  the 
steward  had  brought  the  captain's  pistols,  the  mate 
whipped  one  out  of  his  pocket,  and  with  the  second 
and  third  mate  armed  with  iron  belaying  pins,  these 
four  faced  twenty  men  who  were  anxious  to  rescue 
their  shipmates,  but  could  not  muster  courage  to 
make  a  rush. 

Seeing  us  near  him,  the  captain  said : 

"  Get  out  of  this,  you  boys.  Go  into  the  cabin. 
You'll  not  be  wanted  this  trip." 

We  went  away,  but  only  as  far  as  the  wheelhouse, 
where  we  could  see  what  was  going  on. 

"  Now  go  forward,  every  man  of  you ! "  roared 


A  REIGN  OF  TERROR.  119 

the  captain.  "If  there's  one  single  man  left  aft 
when  I've  counted  three,  that  man  goes  down  with 
a  hole  in  his  skin.  You've  not  seen  me  shoot  yet. 
When  I  do,  I  mean  business.  Bosun,  turn  the  hands 
to  and  unload  that  barge!" 

The  boatswain  had  great  influence  over  the  men. 
He  said :  "  Now,  bullies,  'tain't  no  sorter  use  risin' 
the  ole  man's  dander.  He's  bound  to  win  anyhow 
you  fix  it,  so  you'd  just  best  go  and  turn  to." 

The  men  took  his  advice,  and  went  growling  to 
work.  The  captain  gave  the  steward  his  pistols 
and  called  to  us:  "Get  the  boat  alongside,  boys." 
Wilkinson  and  Sharpe  went  to  get  the  boat  along- 
side, and  Barney  and  I,  pretending  to  busy  ourselves 
getting  oars  and  cushions,  saw  the  end  of  the 
performance. 

"Mr.  Sheman,"  said  the  captain,  "bring  those 
swine  along  here." 

Johnston  had  by  this  time  partly  recovered 
his  senses.  The  two  men  were  dragged  to  the 
spanker  boom,  and  then  Mr.  See  was  sent  for  some 
earings.  When  he  brought  them,  he  and  the 
second  mate  lashed  the  men's  ankles  firmly.  An 
earing  was  then  passed  through  the  handcuffs 
and  the  end  thrown  over  the  boom. 

"  Hist  away,"  said  the  mate,  and  the  two  poor 
wretches  were  triced  up  to  the  boom  at  the  full 


i2o  THE  SHELLBACK. 

stretch  of  their  arms  and  bodies.  They  could  barely 
touch  the  deck  with  their  toes. 

Then  the  captain  descended  to  his  boat.  We 
had  expected  to  witness  another  flogging  business, 
but  it  was  evident  the  captain  had  something  else 
in  view.  We  pulled  as  hard  as  we  could  to  the 
guardship.  The  captain  went  on  board,  and  after 
a  short  interview  with  the  naval  commandant,  he 
returned  on  board,  and  as  we  pulled  away  we  heard 
the  Peruvian  boatswain  piping  away  a  boat's  crew. 

The  two  unhappy  men  were  still  in  the  same 
position,  no  notice  being  taken  of  them  by  the 
officers.  In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  our  arrival 
a  boat  from  the  guardship  came  alongside,  and  a 
number  of  dirty-looking,  bare-footed  soldiers,  headed 
by  a  marine  officer,  made  their  appearance  on  deck. 
They  seemed  to  have  already  had  their  cue  as  to 
how  they  were  to  proceed.  Six  of  them  stood  at 
intervals  at  the  break  of  the  quarter-deck  with 
muskets  loaded  and  bayonets  fixed.  The  others  let 
down  the  men  from  the  boom  and  handed  them  into 
the  boat.  Our  crew  made  no  sign,  and  the  whole 
business  was  carried  out  without  any  trouble.  The 
boat  pushed  off  with  the  prisoners,  and  the  captain, 
after  saying  something  to  the  mate,  went  below 
to  his  dinner. 

When  the  barge   was   empty  and    the  hatches 


A  REIGN  OF  TERROR.  121 

put  on,  the  mate  called  out:  "Lay  aft  here,  all 
hands." 

The  men  came  aft,  wondering  what  was  to  be 
the  next  move.  It  was  soon  explained  by  the 
captain's  steward  appearing  at  the  head  of  the 
companion  way  with  a  large  jug  and  a  pannikin. 
Grog  was  to  be  served  out!* 

So  ended  the  mutiny. 

Soon  after  this  episode,  the  captain  bought,  or 
had  presented  to  him,  an  immense  dog.  It  was 
either  a  St.  Bernard  or  a  Newfoundland.  This 
animal  was  a  great  enemy  of  the  crew.  He 
always  flew  at  any  man  coming  aft.  At  first  he 
also  objected  to  the  boys'  presence  on  the  quarter- 
deck, and  we  never  dared  to  run  when  we  were 
sent  about  any  job,  for  he  was  at  us  at  once, 
and  we  went  about  in  fear  of  our  lives  owing 
to  this  brute.  He  stuck  to  the  captain's  side  of 
the  deck,  and  if  we  had  to  go  and  speak  to  him 
we  took  good  care  to  draw  his  attention  to  the 
presence  of  the  dog. 

One  day,  I  was  sharply  called  by  the  captain, 
and,  forgetful  of  the  dog,  I  ran  up  and  passed 
between  two  quarters  of  beef  which  were  hanging 
on  the  spanker  boom.  The  dog  was  lying  watching 
the  meat,  and  I  did  not  notice  him.  In  a 
*  See  Note  V.,  p.  308. 


122  THE  SHELLBACK. 

moment,  he  was  up  and  had  me  down  on  the 
deck. 

The  captain  released  me,  and  asked  why  the 
devil  I  did  not  come  slowly.  Had  I  gone  slowly 
he  would  have  cursed  me  for  a  slouch. 

That  animal  disappeared  one  nigJat,  and  nobody 
knew  what  had  become  of  him.  The  belief  was 
that  the  mate  had  sent  it  on  a  long  voyage  to  that 
bourne  whence  there  is  no  return.  I  rather  think 
that  the  captain  himself  was  glad  to  get  rid  of  the 
beast,  for  there  was  no  fuss  made  over  its  dis- 
appearance as  there  was  when  the  cat  could  not 
be  found. 


123 


CHAPTER    IX. 

A    DASH    FOR    LIBERTY. 

As  the  loading  went  on,  the  decks  began  to  look 
dirty,  in  spite  of  the  continual  daily  scrubbing,  so 
the  captain  had  them  stained  brown.  After  this 
there  was  no  more  holystoning,  and  the  men 
rejoiced  exceedingly. 

I  now  began  to  get  very  tired  of  the  mate's 
continual  bullying.  Not  a  day  passed  but  I  was 
put  to  some  objectionable  work.  One  evening, 
after  we  had  had  tea,  I  got  over  into  the  main 
chains  to  fish,  and  I  little  thought  that  this  simple 
thing  was  to  relieve  me  from  the  mate  for  ever. 
I  have  said  that  all  the  boys  had  nicknames — 
mine  being  Riley — but  neither  captain  nor  officers 
ever  called  us  by  these  names.  They  were  only 
for  use  amongst  ourselves. 

I  had  not  been  fishing  long,  when  I  heard 
someone  inboard  call  out: 

"Riley!" 

Thinking  it  was  one  of  the  boys,  I  sang  out : 
"Hullo!  What's  up?" 

A  head  was   put  over   the  bulwarks.     I  looked 


124  THE  SHELLBACK. 

up,  and  there  was  the  flat  Russian  cap  and  there 
were  the  wicked  little  eyes  of  the  mate. 

"  You  say  '  hello '  to  me,  do  you  ?  Come  on 
deck  here.  I'm  going  to  mash  you  up." 

I  clambered  over  the  bulwarks,  and  he  made  a 
blow  at  me  and  hit  his  fist  against  a  dead-eye. 
This  made  him  furious.  "  Mein  Gott !  I  shoot  you 
dead,  you  yong  scoundrel.  I  make  dead  meat 
of  you."  He  rushed  for  his  berth  in  the  wheel- 
house.  I  rushed  after  him,  never  doubting  but 
that  he  was  mad  enough  to  carry  out  his  threat, 
and  that  he  was  going  for  his  shooting-iron.  I 
flew  to  the  companion-way  and  got  there  just  in 
time,  for  as  he  entered  his  berth,  I  flew  down 
the  cabin  stairs  and  ran  bolt  up  against  the 
captain,  who  was  about  to  go  on  deck 

"  Now  then,  boy !  What  is  it  ?  Where  in 
thunder  are  you  going  to  V  he  asked. 

"  The  mate's  going  to  shoot  me,  sir,"  I  gasped. 

"  Mate  going  to  shoot  you,  is  he  ?  Very  kind 
of  him.  I've  half  a  mind  to  save  him  the  trouble. 
But  let  me  pass,  and  go  into  the  cabin  till  I  want  37ou/' 

He  pushed  me  in  as  he  spoke  and  went  up. 
There  stood  the  mate  at  the  head  of  the  com- 
panion with  his  revolver.  Purple  with  rage,  the 
captain  flew  up  the  remaining  steps,  and  with  one 
blow  levelled  the  little  ruffian. 


A  DASH  FOK  LIBERTY.  125 

"  Shoot  my  boys,  will  you  ?  You  d sneaking, 

white-livered  Dutchman !  You  just  get  up  and 
put  that  shooting-iron  away  before  I  tie  you  to 
it  and  put  you  in  the  drink  (throw  you  overboard), 
you  miserable  hound.  You'll  clear  out  of  this 
vessel  as  soon  as  I've  done  with  you.  You  don't 
suit  me" 

"  Und  dot  vill  be  shoost  now  den,  Capen 
Barton.  You  see  me  now  ?  I  vont  shtop  von 

minute  more  in  dis  d old  dung  barge.  You 

shofe  me  ashore  und  tarn  ter  seaman's  vages.  I 
goes  mitout."  He  was  taken  at  his  word  and 
straightway  bundled  on  shore,  the  men  giving  him 
a  hearty  and  well-deserved  groan  as  we  shoved  off. 

When  we  landed  him  at  the  mole,  I  assisted 
to  get  his  chest  out  of  the  boat.  Somehow  or 
other,  my  end  of  it  slipped,  and  souse  it  went 
overboard.  I  pushed  it  towards  the  steps,  with 
the  boat-hook,  took  off  my  Blackwall  cap  and 
wished  him  a  pleasant  time  in  his  next  ship.  The 
little  brute  danced  with  rage,  but  he  had  no 
revolver,  and  there  was  not  even  an  iron  belaying- 
pin  handy,  so  we  shoved  off  and  laughed  at  him 
from  a  safe  distance. 

After  this,  I  began  to  mature  my  plan  for 
leaving  the  ship  and  getting  home  either  in  some 
other  vessel  or  trying  my  luck  in  the  country.  I 


126  THE  SHELLBACK. 

had  plenty  of  opportunities  for  communicating  with 
the  shore,  as  the  boat  went  every  morning  for  beef, 
and  we  often  took  the  captain  to  the  mole,  where 
we  lay  for  hours  at  a  time,  whilst  he  enjoyed  his 
euchre  or  poker  at  the  agent's.  On  these  occasions, 
an  ordinary  seaman,  shipped  under  the  name  of 
Murray,  but  nicknamed  Ballarat,  was  sometimes  sent 
with  us  to  carry  the  beef  from  the  store  to  the  boat. 
This  Ballaratee  told  me  he  was  only  watching  an 
opportunity  to  get  away.  Seeing  that  he  was 
determined,  I  confided  my  plans  to  him  and  we 
agreed  to  go  together.  We  got  hold  of  a  Pisco 
market-boatman,  and  made  all  arrangements  with 
him  to  take  us  and  our  traps  to  the  mainland, 
whence  we  made  no  doubt  we  should  be  able  to 
find  our  way  to  Callao,  Iquique,  or  else  to  some 
Chilian  port.  At  all  events  we  were  not  at  all  par- 
ticular whither  good  or  evil  fortune  might  lead  us. 
The  main  object  was  to  get  clear  away  from  the 
den  of  brutality  to  which  we  were  unhappily 
bound. 

It  was  above  all  things  necessary  that  the 
crew  should  be  on  our  side.  So  one  night  I  went 
down  into  the  forecastle  with  Barney,  and  after 
sounding  the  men  carefully  I  found  they  could  be 
depended  upon  to  help  us.  Father  Parkes,  as  he 
was  called  (his  real  name  was  Parker  Castner), 


A  DASH  FOR  LIBERTY.  127 

although  he  was  only  about  five-and-twenty  years 
old — a  regular  "  down  Easter,"  from  Connecticut, 
U.S. — was  the  man  who  fixed  up  all  the  details  of 
the  escape.  He  was  a  most  singular-looking  man 
— tall,  thin,  slab-sided,  with  long  arms  and  slender 
fingers,  not  the  least  like  those  of  a  hairy-breasted 
old  salt,  whose  hands  curve  like  a  lobster's  claw, 
and  whose  every  stumpy  broken-carrot-like  finger 
is  merely  a  piece  of  machinery  for  hooking  on  to  a 
rope.  His  hair  was  straight,  black,  and  long.  As  to 
his  face,  it  was  long  and  rather  refined.  He  shaved 
off  clean  all  but  a  drooping  silky  moustache.  The 
corners  of  his  mouth  turned  down  like  an  arch,  and 
he  had  the  most  beautiful  brown  languishing  eyes, 
large  and  with  long  dark  lashes,  that  I  ever  saw  in 
a  man.  Like  all  the  rest  of  the  hands  he  was  con- 
stantly chewing  tobacco,  and  this  habit  nearly  led 
to  his  committing  murder  on  one  occasion.  Father 
Parkes  was  much  looked  up  to  by  men  and  boys, 
as  he  was  a  good  and  daring  seaman,  but  gentle 
as  a  woman.  He  was  the  only  man  in  the  ship 
who  spoke  with  a  genuine  Yankee  drawl,  and  it 
was  natural  to  him.  I  have  been  particular  in 
describing  this  man,  as  it  is  rare  to  meet  such 
a  man  in  a  ship's  forecastle. 

As  soon  as  we  were  all  seated  on  the  chests  and 
bunks,    Parkes    sent    an    ordinary   seaman    named 


128  THE  SHELLBACK. 

Cook  to  sit  at  the  forecastle  hatch  and  give  notice 
if  any  of  the  officers  or  the  rascally  steward  came 
prowling  about.  At  this  moment  nobody  was  on 
deck  except  the  anchor-watch,  consisting  of  two 
sailors  forward  and  one  boy  aft.  So  we  felt  pretty 
secure. 

"  Naow,"  began  Parker,  "  I  reckon  as  this  little 
fakement  has  got  to  be  fixed  up  slick  and  smart. 
My  opinion  is  that  when  you  go  for  the  beef 
to-morrow  you'd  jest  best  fix  the  thing  right  up 
with  one  of  them  Dago  boatmen,  and  try  and  git 
to-morrow  night.  What  d'yer  say,  Moss  ? " 

Moss  was  a  staid,  middle-aged  man  of  about 
forty.  He  was  an  Englishman  who  had  sailed  for 
years  out  of  Boston,  and  had  been  master  of  a 
ship,  but  having  had  the  ill-fortune  to  lose  his 
vessels  on  two  occasions,  he  had  drifted  away  as  mate, 
second  mate,  boatswain  and  A.B.,  till  finally  he 
reached  Victoria  in  Australia  There  he  settled 
down  for  a  time,  but  wishing  to  get  back  to  America, 
he  had  shipped  with  us  before  the  mast.  He  was 
fairly  well  educated,  and  when  Mr.  Dickens  was 
on  board,  he  used  often  to  bring  up  his  sextant 
and  take  the  sun,  without  incurring  that  easy-going 
officer's  displeasure. 

Well,  Moss  concluded  it  was  a  bad  business  to 
run  away  from  a  ship  like  ours,  because,  if  we  were 


A  DASH  FOR  LIBERTY.  129 

caught,  there  would  be  no  mercy  shown  by  the 
captain.  He  would  certainly  tie  us  up  and  flog 
us  almost  to  death,  and  was  quite  capable  of  "  keel- 
hauling" us  or  giving  us  half  a  dozen  dips  from 
the  foreyard.  I  saw  both  these  punishments  in- 
flicted on  lads  in  a  small  schooner,  and  should 
not  have  liked  to  experience  either  of  them.  The 
lad  who  was  keel-hauled  was  made  fast  to  two 
lines,  one  passing  underneath  the  ship  and  brought 
inboard  through  a  snatch-block,  the  other  lying 
ready  to  be  paid  out  as  rapidly  as  the  sub-navical 
journey  was  performed.  He  was  then  stood  on  the 
rail  and  compelled  to  jump  overboard.  As  soon  as 
he  disappeared,  the  men  tailing  on  to  the  hauling 
line  ran  quickly  aft  with  it,  and  the  unhappy  lad 
was  thus  hauled,  underneath  the  vessel,  from  port 
to  starboard.  He  was  nearly  drowned  by  the  journey, 
and  much  cut  by  the  copper  and  barnacles  he  had 
scraped  against  in  his  passage. 

The  dipping  is  not  so  bad.  The  lad,  in  this  case, 
was  hauled  up  to  the  foreyard  arm  and  let  go  by 
the  run.  Down  he  went,  feet  first.  He  was  imme- 
diately run  up  again,  and  the  performance  was 
repeated  three  times,  and  not  a  murmur  was  heard 
amongst  the  crew.  They  dare  not  grumble  aloud 
in  an  American  ship. 

"However,"  Moss  went  on,  "I  don't  blame  any 
J 


I3O  THE   SHELLBACK. 

one  for  trying  to  get  out  of  this  hell.  I'd  do  it 
myself  if  I  thought  I  had  the  ghost  of  a  chance. 
So  I'm  willing  to  help.  What  say,  bullies  ?  Are 
you  game  to  help  'em,  and  afterwards  keep  your 
mouth  shut?" 

"You  bet!"  was  the  general  reply.  So  it  was 
settled  that  the  attempt  should  be  .made  the  very 
next  night,  at  midnight.  The  conference  then 
broke  up. 

Next  day,  as  usual,  we  went  in  the  boat  for 
the  beef.  The  captain's  steward  went  with  us,  and 
he  and  Ballaratee  went  up  to  the  butcher's 
shop.  Our  Pisco  boatman  was  lying  smoking  on 
the  mole,  but  got  up  and  came  to  the  boat  as 
soon  as  he  saw  the  steward  well  away.  I  ar- 
ranged that  he  was  to  pull  off  to  the  ship  at 
midnight  and  lie  under  the  bows,  fast  to  the 
anchor  -  chain,  till  he  got  a  signal  from  the 
head.  I  also  paid  him  a  couple  of  dollars  as  a 
retaining  fee. 

Everything  went  on  as  usual  during  the  day, 
but  as  evening  approached  I  got  alarmed  for  the 
success  of  the  scheme.  The  captain  came  on  deck 
fully  dressed  about  six  bells,  and  we  thought  he 
was  going  out  for  the  night  aboard  one  of  the 
ships  in  the  harbour.  If  so,  it  was  good-bye  to 
our  escape,  as  he  would  probably  keep  us  alongside 


A  DASH  FOR  LIBERTY.  131 

whatever  vessel  he  went  to  till  one  or  two  in  the 
morning. 

To  my  delight  he  said : 

"Any  boat  alongside,  boy?" 

"  No,  sir,"  I  answered ;  "  the  boat's  fast  to  the 
guess-warp  boom  forrard." 

"  I  don't  mean  our  boat,"  he  snarled ;  "  I  mean 
a  boat  from  the  Elgin!' 

"  No,  sir ;  but  I  see  one  coming  now." 

"All  right,"  said  he,  going  to  the  side;  "show 
a  light  at  the  gangway." 

I  got  a  lantern  and  stood  at  the  gangway,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  the  Earl  of  Elgin's  boat  came 
alongside.  My  friend,  the  young  English  apprentice, 
was  in  her.  He  ran  up  the  gangway  plank  and 
burst  out :  "  By  Jove,  Riley,  you  fellows  are  in  luck  ! 
We've  got  to  take  your  old  man  off  and  bring 
him  back  again.  That  means  all  night  for  us,  while 
you  beggars  are  snoring  in  peace." 

I  could  not  tell  him  I  was  sorry,  for  it  just  fitted 
in  nicely  with  my  plot.  But  I  was  heartily  sorry 
to  part  with  a  lad  to  whom  I  had  become  sincerely 
attached,  and  I  said  good-bye  to  him  in  such  a 
manner  that  he  said: 

"  What's  up,  Riley,  old  man  ?  One  would  think 
your  old  barky  was  full  up  and  leaving  to-morrow. 
What's  the  matter  with  you?" 


132  THE  SHELLBACK. 

I  could  not  help  it.  I  swore  him  to  secrecy, 
and  told  him  what  I  proposed  to  do.  He  was  very 
sorry  to  lose  me,  but  said  he  would  have  cut  and 
run  long  ago  if  he  had  had  such  treatment  as  he 
had  seen  us  get.  "Our  old  man  isn't  such  a  bad 
fellow,  and  when  he  does  cut  up  rusty  he  never 
takes  to  flogging  and  booting  like  yours,"  he  said. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied.  "  You  sail  under  the  British  flag. 
There  is  some  law  and  justice  to  be  got  on  board 
a  limejuicer ;  but  with  us,  what  can  we  do  ?  Go  to 
the  captain  and  he  tells  you  to  go  to  hell.  Go 
to  the  American  consul.  He  asks  where  the  ship 
hails  from.  '  Boston  ?  New  York  ?  Well,  I  can  do 
nothing.  You  must  go  and  lodge  your  complaint 
there.'  Then  get  to  Boston  or  New  York,  what 
happens  then  ?  You  will  be  asked :  '  Where  did 
this  happen  ? '  'At  the  Chinchas,'  you  say.  '  Ah, 
well,  that's  out  of  this  jurisdiction.  You  should 
have  applied  to  the  consul  there/  No;  I  mean  to 
cut  it  and  make  my  way  home  in  a  British  ship 
somehow  or  other." 

Just  then  the  captain,  who  had  gone  below, 
retained  on  deck,  and  I  reported  the  boat  as  just 
arrived.  He  growled  a  bit  and  went  down  the 
plank.  I  devoutly  hoped  and  believed  that  that 
was  the  last  time  I  should  see  his  portly  back. 

Everything    was    now    playing    beautifully   into 


A  DASH  FOR  LIBERTY.  133 

our  hands.  The  watchful  skipper  was  away.  The 
second  mate  would  not  awaken  till  daylight,  once 
he  was  asleep,  neither  would  the  third  mate.  The 
carpenter  and  boatswain  had  leave  ashore  for  the 
night,  so  it  was  all  plain  sailing.  About  six  bells 
(11  p.m.),  in  the  first  watch,  Barney  and  I  carried 
my  portmanteau  to  the  forecastle.  Sharpe  and 
Wilkinson  remained  aft  to  watch  the  officers  and 
to  keep  the  bells  going.  Very  punctually  the 
shore  boat  arrived.  Parkes  and  Hedges  lowered 
the  "  leather  bag  "  into  her.  Ballaratee  and  I  shook 
hands  all  round,  and  were  about  to  slip  down  the 
rope  over  the  bows,  when  Parkes  said: 

"Stop!  I  reckon  we're  all  in  this  swim,  and  I 
want  to  know  what  you're  goin'  to  do,  s'posin' 
you're  caught.  Air  you  gwine  to  give  us  away,  or 
air  you  not?" 

Both  of  us  swore  on  our  words  of  honour  that 
if  we  were  caught  no  punishment  should  make  us 
say  one  word  to  implicate  any  of  the  crew. 

"Waal,  sonny,"  said  Parkes,  "we'll  take  your 
word.  That's  enough.  You're  a  gentleman;  so 
good-bye,  and  good  luck!" 

We  slid  down  the  rope,  and  the  boatman  pulled 
away  towards  the  mole.  We  were  about  halfway 
between  the  ship  and  the  shore  when  we  heard  a 
boat  pulling  in  our  direction,  and  a  number  of 


134  THE  SHELLBACK. 

men  talking  Spanish.  We  could  not  possibly  avoid 
them,  so  we  boldly  pulled  close  to  them.  They 
proved  to  be  a  number  of  Peruvian  officers  going 
off  to  a  man-of-war  in  the  harbour.  They  hailed 
us  and  ordered  us  to  stop.  We  had  no  option,  so 
we  told  our  boatman  to  Vast  pulling. 

"  Who  you  ? "  asked  one. 

"Apprentices,"  I  replied. 

"Where  you  go?     What  ship  you  belong?" 

" The  Gipsy  Bride"  I  promptly  said,  mentioning 
the  name  of  a  ship  that  lay  farthest  out  to  sea. 
I  did  this  in  the  hope  that  if  they  meant  to  go  to 
the  ship  and  make  inquiries,  the  time  they  would 
take  would  enable  us  to  get  ashore  and  stow  away 
before  they  got  back  My  only  fear  was  that  they 
might  insist  on  our  accompanying  them. 

"  Where  you  go  ?  You  no  say  where  you  go," 
persisted  one  of  these  most  inquisitive  gentlemen. 
Of  course,  they  had  seen  the  portmanteau. 

"What  a  mercy,"  I  thought,  "that  it  is  a 
portmanteau."  Had  it  been  a  common  wooden 
seaman's  chest,  they  might  have  been  less  satisfied 
with  my  answer. 

"Going  to  the  agent's,  sir,  with  the  captain's 
portmanteau,  and  then  to  the  guardship  to  fetch 
his  overcoat,  which  he  left  there  this  morning." 

I   thought   that    ought    to  convince   them,  and 


A  DASH  FOR  LIBERTY.  135 

so  it  did,  for  they  merely  said :  "  All  right ;  go  on. 
Good-night,"  and  went  on  their  way. 

After  this  little  interruption  we  reached  the 
mole  in  safety,  got  the  portmanteau  ashore,  and 
started  for  the  boatman's  hut,  when  we  heard 
voices  and  a  clanking  of  swords  coming  along  the 
mole.  Luckily,  we  were  just  abreast  of  some  piles 
of  lumber,  so  we  slipped  behind  these,  and  through 
the  chinks  we  saw  several  officers  go  past.  They 
were  evidently  another  detachment  of  the  same 
party  we  had  met  in  the  boat,  and  it  was  just  as 
well  that  we  were  able  to  escape  being  questioned 
by  them.  It  was  just  possible  this  lot  might  not 
be  so  simple  as  to  believe  such  a  lame  story  as 
that  the  captain  would  send  his  portmanteau  ashore 
at  midnight,  or  send  for  his  overcoat  to  the 
guardship  at  that  hour. 

When  the  coast  was  clear  we  got  away  from 
the  mole,  and  went  a  little  distance  along  the 
rocks,  when  we  came  to  the  boatman's  hut.  It 
was  a  wretched  contrivance  of  sticks  and  mats, 
and,  of  course,  there  was  no  furniture.  However, 
that  did  not  trouble  us.  We  wanted  him  to  run 
us  over  to  Pisco  that  night,  and  had  he  consented 
this  story  would  have  been  very  differently  written, 
and  to-day  I  might  either  have  been  in  command 
of  a  Chilian  or  Peruvian  ironclad,  or  killed  in  the 


136  THE  SHELLBACK. 

war  between  those  two  countries ;  or  I  might  have 
turned  out  a  wealthy  rancher o.  I  do  not  believe 
I  should  have  gone  to  England,  as  I  was  too  fond 
of  adventure  not  to  try  to  see  something  of 
Spanish-American  life. 

But  the  man  refused.  He  had  to  get  some 
money  next  day,  and  he  must  wait  for  it.  But 
at  eleven  o'clock  the  following  night  he  would 
start.  Meanwhile,  he  assured  us  we  were  quite 
safe  where  we  were.  For  supper  he  gave  us  some 
dried  salt  fish,  onions,  and  batatas,  and  a  drink  of 
Pisco  (white  rum).  We  made  a  good  meal  on 
these  savoury  viands,  then  lighted  our  pipes  and 
sat  down  to  consider  our  future. 

Whilst  we  were  talking,  a  young  sailor-looking 
fellow  came  in,  and  said  he  was  a  runaway  from 
his  ship,  and  was  going  over  to  the  mainland  with 
us.  He  became  quite  friendly  and  confidential, 
and  we  told  him  all  about  ourselves.  As  he  said 
he  had  bolted,  taking  nothing  with  him  but  the 
dungaree  suit  he  was  wearing,  I  gave  him  a  new 
pair  of  blue  cloth  trousers.  He  talked  for  some 
time,  and  at  last  went  off  We  lay  down  to  try 
to  get  some  sleep,  but  we  had  a  most  miserable 
time  of  it.  The  place  was  infested  with  huge 
Norway  rats,  and  these  gruesome  beasts  ran  over 
our  bodies  and  faces  all  night.  Fortunately,  they 


A  DASH  FOR  LIBERTY.  137 

did  not  bite  us,  but  it  was  a  dreadful  experience. 
Next  morning  we  were  up  by  daybreak.  We  got 
some  sort  of  breakfast,  and  then  our  boatman 
came  and  demanded  the  rest  of  his  money.  I 
pointed  out  that  he  had  not  yet  carried  out  his 
contract.  He  had  already  had  two  dollars  simply 
for  putting  us  ashore.  The  rest  was  for  the  more 
dangerous  service  of  running  us  clear  of  our  own 
ship  and  of  the  guardship  and  men-of-war,  and 
placing  us  in  safety  on  the  beach  at  Pisco. 

But  the  villain  declared  he  would  not  move 
that  night,  unless  we  paid  him  there  and  then. 

"  S'posa  me  tella  cap'en  wherea  boy  'top,  eh  ? 
Think  I  getta  money  ?  Oh  yes — plenty." 

The  scoundrel  had  us  in  his  power  then,  but 
what  assurance  had  we  that,  even  if  we  paid  kis 
demand,  he  would  take  us  across  ?  I  put  this  to 
him,  and  he  laid  his  hand  on  his  heart,  and 
replied  grandiloquently:  "Ze  honor  of  von  gentle- 
man, zar!" 

We  very  much  doubted  the  honour  of  "von 
(so  very  seedy,  ragged  and  dirty-looking)  gentle- 
man," and  we  half  made  up  our  minds  to  let  him 
go,  watch  him  to  town,  then  seize  his  boat  and  sail 
boldly  through  the  ships,  trusting  to  luck  not  to 
be  detected  in  the  crowd  of  shore  boats  which 
were  continually  pulling  about  the  harbour. 


138  THE  SHELLBACK. 

But  on  reflection  we  saw  that  we  should  be  at 
once  stopped  by  the  other  boatmen,  who  probably 
knew  all  about  the  job  the  fellow  had  in  hand,  so 
we  gave  up  that  idea.  There  was  no  help  for  it, 
and  eight  dollars  were  handed  over  to  the  rapacious 
scoundrel,  who  pocketed  them  with  a  sneering  sort 
of  grin  of  triumph. 

At  midday  we  were  just  about  to  dine,  when 
the  mat  at  the  door  of  the  tent  was  torn  aside, 
and  there  stood  a  Peruvian  marine  officer  with  his 
sword  drawn,  and  half  a  dozen  vigilantes  with 
bayonets  fixed,  close  to  the  entrance. 

"  Avanti ! "  cried  the  officer.  "  Sailorman !  come 
out — kveek  !  If  you  run,  you  die  !  See,  behold ! " 
and  he  pointed  to  the  soldiers.  Who  should  be 
with  them  but  our  rascally  boatman  and  the 
English  sailor  lad  who  had  visited  us  on  the 
previous  evening,  and  to  whom  I  had  presented 
the  trousers! 

We  now  saw  the  whole  plot.  The  boatman 
had  told  this  sailor,  who  was  a  crimp's  tout  from 
Callao,  as  we  afterwards  discovered,  and  the  latter 
must  have  suggested  getting  a  reward  for  delivering 
us  up.  For  the  miserable  sum  of  five  dollars  they 
had  betrayed  us,  and  in  addition  had  got  ten 
dollars  out  of  me.  We  were  in  a  trap,  and  sur- 
rendered at  discretioa  The  sailor  boy  wanted  to 


A  DASH  FOR  LIBERTY.  139 

decamp,  but  the  officer  detained  him,  and  made 
him  and  the  boatman  carry  my  portmanteau  to 
the  boat. 

We  were  placed  in  front,  and  the  fellows  with 
their  bayonets  at  the  charge  followed  close  to  us. 
The  officer,  whose  knowledge  of  English  seemed 
very  limited,  declared  every  now  and  then :  "  To  fly, 
it  is  ze  dead  for  you." 

We  had  no  intention  of  flying,  for  there  was 
nowhere  to  fly  to,  so  we  walked  quietly  to  the 
guardship  boat,  and  were  rapidly  pulled  on  board, 
Ballarat  said :  "  I  mean  to  mash  one  of  them 
vigilantes  as  soon  as  I  get  a  chance."  And  as  the 
chance  occurred  very  soon,  he  kept  his  word. 

The  boat  had  been  taken  to  a  swinging  boom 
projecting  from  the  bows,  and  from  the  boom 
depended  a  Jacob's  ladder.  I  was  ordered  up 
first,  then  followed  Ballarat,  and  after  him  a 
vigilante  close  at  his  heels.  As  the  former  reached 
the  boom  he  drew  up  his  leg,  and  landed  a  crush- 
ing blow  with  the  heel  of  his  great  sea-boot  right 
in  the  soldier's  face.  The  fellow  dropped  back  into 
the  boat  nearly  stunned.  I  am  sure  he  must  have 
lost  some  teeth.  There  was  a  prodigious  outcry, 
but  we  were  hurried  down  a  couple  of  ladders 
into  the  hold.  As  soon  as  our  eyes  got  accustomed 
to  the  gloom,  we  saw  a  double  row  of  men,  of 


140  THE  SHELLBACK. 

many  colours  and  doubtless  many  crimes — certainly 
of  much  dirt — sitting  on  a  layer  of  coal  with  their 
legs  passed  through  shackles  on  a  couple  of  iron 
bars,  which  ran  the  whole  length  of  the  ship.  The 
heat  and  stench  were  awful. 

"  Good  God  ! "  I  thought,  "  are  we  to  be  treated 
like  these  naked  wretches  ? " 

We  were  not  left  long  in  doubt,  but  were 
marched  to  nearly  the  after  end  of  the  bar,  com- 
pelled to  sit  down,  and  our  feet  were  at  once 
secured  by  the  shackles.  By  this  time  we  were 
terribly  thirsty,  and  asked  for  water. 

"  Water — no,"  said  the  gaoler,  or  whatever  he 
was  called.  "  Ze  water  done  to-day.  To-morrow 
eight  bells,  one  bucket  six  man." 

It  was  of  no  use  asking  or  grumbling.  Not 
a  drop  of  water  was  to  be  had  till  eight  o'clock 
next  morning,  and  now  it  was  about  four  in  the 
afternoon.  This  was  anything  but  an  agreeable 
prospect,  but  "  what  can't  be  cured  must  be 
endured."  Ballarat  had  some  tobacco,  so  we  stayed 
our  hunger  and  thirst  by  chewing.  The  noise 
and  blasphemy  in  this  pandemonium  were  awful 
No  warders  checked  the  row.  The  prisoners 
could  not  possibly  escape,  as  the  ladders  were 
drawn  up  after  every  fresh  arrival.  Had  the  ship 
taken  fire  there  must  have  been  a  tremendous  loss 


A  DASH  FOR  LIBERTY.  141 

of  life,  as  without  doubt  these  Peruvian  curs  would 
have  fled  from  her  without  giving  a  thought  to 
the  manacled  prisoners  below. 

At  five  o'clock  we  were  supplied  with  biscuits 
and  fish — salt  fish — and  nothing  to  drink  with  it. 
It  was  the  refinement  of  cruelty.  About  half-past 
six  or  seven,  a  man  came  down,  unlocked  our 
shackles  (that  is,  those  of  Ballarat  and  myself),  and 
told  us  to  go  on  deck  We  could  not  imagine 
what  was  in  the  wind  now,  but  on  emerging  from 
the  hold  an  officer  came  to  us  and  said  he  had 
orders  to  give  us  some  food  and  drink.  So  we 
sat  down,  and  who  should  bring  us  the  refresh- 
ments but  our  old  shipmate  Vaughan,  who  had 
squared  up  to  the  captain  in  the  mutiny. 

He  told  us  the  captain  had  given  him  his 
discharge,  and  he  had  joined  the  Peruvian  Navy. 
As  may  be  imagined,  he  looked  after  us  well,  and 
gave  us  not  only  plenty  of  good  chocolate  but  a 
drink  of  brandy,  which  did  us  both  good. 

The  fact  of  Vaughan  having  got  his  discharge 
made  us  hopeful  that  the  skipper  would  treat  us 
in  a  like  manner.  But  Vaughan  had  his  doubts. 
The  captain  was  afraid  of  him,  as  he  had  openly 
sworn  to  kill  him  on  the  passage  home,  and  I 
suppose  the  old  man  thought  it  would  be  safer  to 
get  rid  of  the  mart 


142  THE  SHELLBACK. 

We  congratulated  our  old  shipmate  on  the 
happy  termination  of  his  imprisonment,  and  after 
a  couple  of  hours  in  the  fresh  air  we  were  again 
sent  below,  but  this  time  we  were  not  put  on  the 
bar.  I  fancy  that  the  Peruvian  commandant,  an 
Irishman  named  O'Brien,  was  at  the  bottom  of 
this  leniency,  having  heard  from  Vaughan  who  we 
were  and  what  sort  of  a  man  our  captain  was. 


143 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TORTURE. 

NEXT  morning,  after  a  good  breakfast,  we  were 
ordered  on  deck  and  sent  aft,  where  we  were 
introduced  into  the  commandant's  cabin.  The 
great  man  sat  in  the  centre  of  a  long  table 
running  athwartships.  Our  captain  and  several 
other  men,  evidently  merchant  captains  of  Yankee 
ships,  by  the  look  of  their  square-cut,  black  "store" 
clothes,  and  their  hard,  shavefr  faces,  sat  near  him. 

Ballarat  was  first  arraigned. 

w  Well,  my  man,"  began  the  commandant, 
*why  did  you  run  away  from  your  ship?" 

"Because,  your  honour,  I  wanted  to  join  the 
Peruvian  Navy,"  was  the  reply. 

Ballarat  was  taking  a  hint  from  Vaughan's 
experience. 

I  heard  our  captain  mutter  to  his  friends, 

*  Peruvian  service!  d him!  I'll  give  him 

Peruvian  service  when  I  get  him  on  board!" 

"Well,  I'm  sorry  for  you,  my  lad,"  pursued  the 
commandant.  "You  have,  in  the  first  place,  gone 
the  wrong  way  about  it,  because  no  man  would  be 


144  THE  SHELLBACK-. 

accepted  in  our  service  unless  he  had  been  legally 
discharged  from  his  ship." 

"  Then  let  Captain  Barton  give  me  my  discharge, 
your  honour,"  interrupted  Ballarat. 

"Yes,  my  lad,  I'll  give  it  you,  certainly,"  purred 
our  gentle  skipper ;  "  but  it  will  be  when  I've  done 
with  you.  You  know  me." 

"I  refuse  to  go  back  aboard  the  Altamont," 
persisted  Ballarat. 

"  Your  refusal  will  not  alter  the  law,  my  friend/' 
replied  the  commandant.  "You've  deserted  your 
ship,  and  the  matter  now  stands  thus:  Your 
captain  can  take  you  back  at  once,  if  he  likes,  and 
I  shall  impose  a  heavy  fine  on  you.  Or  you 
may  be  sent  to  prison  until  the  ship  leaves,  when 
you  will  be  returned  on  board  with  the  loss  of 
your  wages.  It  is  for  Captain  Barton  to  decide 
what  course  he  will  pursue." 

"  Then,  sir,"  said  Captain  Barton,  "  if  you  will  be 
good  enough  to  order  him  aboard  my  ship  at  once, 
the  matter  may  be  considered  settled." 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  commandant ;  "  but  the  man's 
wages  are  forfeited  from  the  date  of  his  leaving 
Melbourne  to  to-day.  Take  him  to  the  boat." 

I  was  next  brought  forward.  The  commandant 
smiled  affably,  and  I  smiled  in  return — although, 
to  confess  the  truth,  I  was  in  a  terrible  fright, 


A  POOR  SEAMAN*S  TORTURE.  145 

thinking  of  what  the  <•  fates  might  have  in  store  for 
me  when  I  was  once  more  in  the  captain's  power. 

"  Will  you  allow  me,  sir,"  asked  the  latter,  "  to 
put  a  question  to  the  boy?" 

"Certainly,  Captain  Barton,"  was  the  polite 
rejoinder. 

"  All  I  want  to  ask,  then,  is :  Who  induced  you 
to  leave  me?  Have  I  not  always  treated  you 
kindly  ?  Just  give  me  the  names  of  those  who 
helped  you  to  desert,  and  I  will  quite  overlook  this 
piece  of  folly  of  yours." 

I  looked  the  brute  straight  in  the  face  as  I 
replied : 

"No  one  induced  me  to  leave.  No  one  helped 
me.  You  have  not  treated  me  kindly,  because 
you  have  allowed  the  mates  to  ill  treat  me,  and 
you  have  only  defended  me  from  one  attack.  You 
promised  my  brother  I  should  be  well  treated,  and 
you  have  not  kept  the  promise.  I,  like  all  the 
rest,  have  a  dog's  life  on  board,  and  never  know, 
from  one  minute's  end  to  the  other,  when  I  am 
going  to  be  stripped,  tied  up  and  flogged,  like 
you " 

"Now  don't  talk  nonsense,"  interrupted  the 
captain,  who  was  afraid  I  was  going  to  tell  of  his 
barbarity  to  the  two  boys  Banks  and  Wilkinson. 
"Did  I  ever  tie  you  up  and  flog  you?" 

K 


146  THE  SHELLBACK. 

But  I  was  determined  to  publish  his  cruelty, 
no  matter  what  the  consequences  to  myself  might 
be,  so  I  went  on,  as  if  no  interruption  had 
occurred : 

"Like  you  flogged  Banks  and  Wilkinson,  and 
then  mastheaded  them  for  eight  hours  without 
food.  Besides,  I  don't  like  you,  and  I  don't  like 
your  ship.  That's  my  only  reason  for  running,  and 
I  settled  it  all  myself,  and  I  persuaded  Ballarat 
to  come  with  me,  and  I  got  away  all  by  myself." 

"  Look  here,  boy,  don't  lie,"  said  the  com- 
mandant. "That  boatman  says  the  crew  helped 
you  to  leave  the  ship." 

"  That  boatman  is  a  liar,"  I  said,  "  and  so  is 
any  man  who  repeats  his  lies.  He  robbed  me  of 
ten  dollars,  and  he  took  money  from  you  or 
Captain  Barton  to  give  me  up,  like  a  sneaking 
Peruvian  blackguard,  and  he  never  saw  a  soul 
help  me." 

The  commandant  looked  very  black  at  this  sort 
of  talk,  but  I  was  in  a  reckless  sort  of  humour, 
and  would  have  thought  nothing  of  telling  both  of 
them  that  they  were  worse  than  the  boatman. 

As  for  the  latter  saying  he  saw  the  crew  help 
me  off,  I  was  strictly  within  the  truth  in  contra- 
dicting his  statement,  because  the  bulwarks  of  the 
ship  were  very  high  and  close,  the  night  was  dark, 


A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TORTURE.  147 

and  the  portmanteau  went  down  into  the  boat 
before  we  did.  He  was  under  the  swell  of  the 
bow,  and  it  was  impossible  he  could  have  seen  a 
face,  or  recognised  it  if  he  had. 

"Well,  that  will  do,  boy,"  said  the  commandant- 
"You  consent,  Captain  Barton,  to  take  this  boy  back?" 

"Yes;  I'll  take  him  back,  and  not  deal  hardly 
with  him." 

("Oh,  yes!"  I  thought.  "Much  I  believe  of 
that,  you  crocodile.")  "  But  first,  I  want  this 
fellow  "  (indicating  the  crimp's  young  tout)  "punished 
for  robbery.  He  is  actually  wearing  my  lad's 
trousers  at  this  minute." 

But  here  I  interposed.  Scoundrel  as  the  young 
fellow  was,  I  did  not  want  him  punished  for  what 
he  had  not  done,  so  I  said  I  had  voluntarily  given 
him  the  trousers. 

"  Never  mind,"  the  commandant  remarked,  "  I'll 
send  the  fellow  on  to  Callao.  We  don't  want 
animals  like  that  here." 

Then  I  was  ordered  to  go  into  our  boat, 
whither  my  mate  in  affliction  and  my  portmanteau 
had  preceded  me.  I  went  down  and  sat  in  the 
bows  next  to  Ballarat.  My  three  old  chums  were 
fall  of  sympathy. 

"  Never  mind,  Riley,"  said  Barney ;  "  a  licking 
is  soon  over,  and  if  you're  mastheaded,  begorra> 


148  THE  SHELLBACK. 

it's  not  tay  you'll  want,  nor  a  tot  of  grog  either, 
if  I  have  to  shtale  it  from  the  doctor's  [cook's] 
wife." 

They  all  tried  to  cheer  us  both  up  as  well  as 
they  could,  for  they  foresaw  the  terrible  punish- 
ment we  were  sure  to  get  before  eight  bells. 

Then  the  captain  came  down.  Seeing  me  in 
the  bows,  he  called  to  me  to  take  my  oar. 

"  I'm  a  prisoner,"  I  said  doggedly. 

"  Come  and  take  your  oar !  D'ye  hear  ? "  he 
shouted. 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  hear,  but  I'll  not  work  and  be 
flogged  as  well" 

"Now  don't  be  a  young  fool.  Come  aft  here 
and  behave  yourself  properly." 

Something  in  his  tone  made  me  think  he  did 
not  mean  to  proceed  to  extremities  with  me,  so 
I  thought  it  best  not  to  exasperate  him.  I  went 
aft,  rather  sheepishly,  I  must  say,  and  helped  to 
pull  back  to  the  ship. 

I  noticed  that  another  boat  arrived  alongside 
at  the  same  time  as  we  did,  and  directly  afterwards 
a  third,  both  with  several  American  captains  in 
them. 

As  soon  as  we  got  on  board,  I  was  told  to 
stand  at  the  capstan,  whilst  poor  Ballarat  was 
handcuffed  by  the  third  mate.  He  made  a 


A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TORTURE.  149 

desperate  attempt  to  escape.  He  rushed  to  a  bitt, 
and  dashing  his  clenched  hands  on  it  the  hand- 
cuffs sprang  open.  Two  officers,  however,  grappled 
with  him,  and  threw  him  on  the  deck.  He  was 
then  securely  ironed.  Meanwhile  the  captain  and 
his  visitors,  having  fortified  themselves  in  the  cabin, 
again  appeared  on  deck.  They  looked — the  visitors, 
I  mean — a  melancholy  crew,  rigged  out  in  their 
square  black  coats  as  if  they  were  going  to 
meeting.  They  resembled  local  preachers,  but  each 
local  preacher  had  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and 
a  cigar  or  a  chew  in  his  mouth.  I  pretty  well 
guessed  why  they  were  there,  and  why  they  so 
carefully  kept  their  hands  in  their  pockets.  The 
captain  walked  up  .to  Ballarat 

"Take  your  shirt  off,"  he  curtly  said. 

"  I  can't.   Take  the  handcuffs  off,"  replied  the  victim. 

"Curse  you,  then.  I'll  take  it  off  for  you," 
snarled  the  skipper,  and  he  tore  it  off  the  man's 
back  in  shreds. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  to  me  ? "  the 
latter  asked. 

"  What  am  I  going  to  do  to  you,  you  run- 
away hound  ?  I'm  just  going  to  give  you 
Peruvian  service.  That's  what  I'm  going  to  do  to 
you.  I'm  going  to  cut  you  into  dog's  meat,  you 
hound.  That's  what  I'm  going  to  do  to  you." 


ISO  THE  SHELLBACK. 

"  If  you  lay  a  hand  on  me,"  shouted  the  man, 
"  I'll  have  the  law  of  you,  as  sure  as  my  name's 
Murray.  Them  men" — pointing  to  the  local 
preachers — "them  men  is  witnesses  of  what  you  does." 

For  reply,  the  captain  seized  him  by  the  throat, 
and  Ballarat  drove  the  handcuffs  into  his  stomach. 
The  captain  let  the  man  go,  and  turning  to  the 
preachers,  said — 

"  You're  all  witnesses  that  this  man  struck  me  ? " 

"  I  reckon  we  air.  He  did  let  out  some," 
drawled  one  of  them. 

"  Yaas,"  said  the  others.  "  We  saw  the  mean 
cuss  hit  you,  Captain  Barton." 

"  Ef  it  was  me/'  another  said,  "  guess  he'd  have 
been  laid  out  and  ready  for  the  cold  meat  box 
by  now." 

"  Trice  him  up,  Mr.  Marshall.  Boatswain ! 
Bring  the  lashings,"  yelled  the  now  furious  captain. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  said  the  boatswain,  and  he  went 
along  the  starboard  side  of  the  ship  forward, 
whilst  the  whole  crew  came  along  the  port  side  aft. 
The  boatswain  was  in  no  hurry.  He  did  not  want 
to  side  with  a  mutiny,  neither  did  he  want  to 
assist  at  half  killing  a  shipmate. 

As  the  hands  came  aft  I  noticed  that  rascally 
cabin  steward  coming  up  the  companion  with  a 
cutlass. 


A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TORTURE.  151 

The  men  came  right  on  to  the  quarter-deck. 
The  captain  turned  and  faced  them. 

"  Well,  men  !    What  do  you  want  aft  ?  "  he  askei 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  to  that  man  ? " 
demanded  the  spokesman,  a  prime  young  seaman 
named  Hedges. 

"  What  the  devil  has  that  got  to  do  with 
you  ? "  the  captain  retorted.  *  Get  away  forrard, 
all  of  you." 

"  I  axes  you,  Cap'en  Barton,  quite  respectful 
like,  what  you're  a-goin'  to  do  to  Murray.  The 
ship's  company  wants  to  know,"  repeated  Hedges. 

"  Oh,  the  ship's  company  wants  to  know,  do 
they  ?  Well,  I'm  going  to  flog  him  within  an 
inch  of  his  life,  closer  if  he  gives  any  lip,  as  I'll 
do  to  every  mother's  son  of  you  if  you  don't  git 
at  once." 

"You'll  not  flog  him,"  said  Hedges  coolly,  "if 
I've  anything  to  say  to  it,"  and  he  rolled  up  his 
sleeves. 

"  No,  nor  while  I'm  here,"  said  Parkes.  Thomp- 
son, Denny,  and  Lee  declared  loudly  Murray  should 
not  be  flogged. 

The  captain  gave  one  look  at  the  speakers. 

"  I've  marked  you  down,  my  men,  and  the  Lord 
help  you,  that's  alL  Steward!  my  cutlass!"  he 
shouted. 


152  THE  SHELLBACK. 

The  officious  Dips  was  at  hand.  The  captain 
seized  the  cutlass  and  ferociously  attacked  Hedges. 
Before  the  latter  could  either  fight  or  retreat,  he 
was  terribly  gashed  about  the  head,  face,  and  arms. 
Then  the  captain  drew  a  revolver,  and  swore  he 
would  have  the  lives  of  the  men  who  had  spoken 
unless  they  at  once  went  forward.  The  only 
Spaniard  in  the  crew  first  sneaked  off,  then  followed 
the  Swedes  and  Danes  and  Germans,  and  the 
young  ordinary  seamen.  Only  five  or  six  of  the 
best  sailors  in  the  ship  stood  their  ground. 

"  Are  you  men  going  ? "  the  captain  quietly 
asked. 

"Go  forrard,  mates;  go  forrard,"  said  Ballarat. 
«*  You  can't  help  me  now." 

"  No,  my  man,"  said  the  captain,  smiling.  "  No, 
God  Almighty  daren't  try  and  save  you  now.  He 
knows  I've  got  you.  I'm  your  salvation,  and  you're 
going  to  work  it  out." 

The  noble  seamen  gave  one  look  at  the  captain's 
revolver,  and  another  at  the  pockets  of  the  "  local 
preachers,"  and,  seeing  they  were  overmatched, 
went  "  forrard,"  vowing  loudly  that  they  would  yet 
have  their  revenge. 

The  captain  smiled,  and  remarked  that  they 
were  a  "d set  of  cowardly  curs." 

Just  then   the  rascally  Spaniard   came  up  with 


A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TORTURE.  153 

the  lashings,  which  the  boatswain  had  determined 
not  to  bring  himself.  Ballarat  was  seized  up  in 
the  mizzen  rigging,  his  feet  lashed  to  an  iron  bar 
which  ran  along  the  scuppers  and  was  used  for 
hooking  a  snatchblock  to.  And  now  all  was  ready. 
Then  the  skipper  took  the  yoke-rope;  but  instead 
of  using  the  pointed  end,  he  used  that  finished 
by  a  rose-knot.  He  then  took  off  his  coat,  rolled 
up  his  sleeves,  and  slowly  approached  the  man. 
I  felt  sick  with  terror,  especially  as  I  felt  sure 
that  in  a  few  minutes  I  should  be  triced  up 
to  the  same  rigging,  to  suffer  the  same  punish- 
ment. 

The  great  brute  swung  the  murderous  rope 
round,  and  brought  it  down  with  his  full  strength 
on  the  man's  back.  It  was  a  frightful  blow,  but 
Ballarat  never  winced.  Again,  and  a  third  time, 
the  lash  came  down.  Still  not  a  word  from  the 
sufferer.  Then  the  captain  paced  backwards  and 
forwards  for  a  little  before  going  on  with  the 
flogging,  and  as  he  passed  me  he  said: 

"Do  you  see  what  you're  in  for,  you  whelp? 
Do  you  see  it  ?  Do  you  imagine  how  it  will  feel  ? 
I'll  lay  it  on  to  you,  my  joker  !  I'll  make  you  smell 
h-11  before  another  ten  minutes." 

As  I  now  felt  sure  that  nothing  could  save  me 
from  this  maddened  demon,  I  determined  to 


154  THE  SHELLBACK. 

exasperate  him  still  more.  He  could  not  do  worse 
to  me  than  this. 

"  You  make  me  smell  h-11,  you  coward,"  I  said. 
"You'd  be  afraid  to  fight  a  woman  if  she  was 
free.  You're  only  game  to  tackle  a  boy  like  me, 
and  a  man  tied  up  tight  like  that  You  wouldn't 
dare  to  stand  up  to  him,  nor  even  to  me,  if  you 
met  us  alone  on  shore.  You're  only  plucky 
because  you've  got  a  lot  of  men  behind  you 
with  pistols  in  their  pockets." 

Some  of  the  hands  came  out  of  the  pockets 
of  the  local  preachers,  and  they  grinned.  This 
was  a  bit  of  first-class  entertainment  for  them. 

"I  shall  tell  my  brother,  if  I  live  to  get  out 
of  your  hands,  what  a  bold  hero  you  are." 

"  My  gosh  ! "  one  of  the  local  preachers  ejaculated. 
"  Barton  will  skin  that  young  devil  alive  now." 

"Yes,"  said  the  captain,  "and  I'll  let  your 
brother  know  what  an  impudent  young  scoundrel 
you  were,  and  how  you  had  to  be  licked  into  shape, 
as  you  will  be  directly.  Now,  shut  up  and  be 
d to  you!" 

"  You  touch  me,  if  you  dare,"  I  retorted.  "  I've 
done  nothing  to  deserve  a  cutting  up  like  this, 
and  by  heaven  111  make  you  smart  for  it  when  we 
get  home.  We're  going  to  Cork,  not  to  New 
York,  and  don't  you  forget  it" 


A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TORTURE.  155 

I  know  I  was  mad  for  the  moment,  but  I 
rushed  blindly  on  my  fate,  and  lashed  the  captain 
into  such  a  fury  that  the  wonder  was  he  did 
not  rush  at  me  and  pound  me  to  death  where 
I  stood. 

The  local  preachers  all  smiled  in  a  ghastly  sort 
of  fashion.  They  meant  to  laugh,  I  suppose,  but  it 
was  a  melancholy  attempt.  The  skipper,  however, 
only  glared  at  me  and  ground  his  teeth,  but  said 
no  more. 

He  now  applied  himself  with  still  greater  energy 
and  ferocity  to  the  flogging  of  Ballarat.  After  three 
or  four  more  lashes  the  poor  wretch  gave  a  groan. 

"Aha!  I've  fetched  you  at  last,  have  I,  you 
dog  ? "  chuckled  the  captain.  "  We'll  lay  a  few 
more  on  the  same  spot"  Down  came  the  lash, 
and  the  tortured  man  gave  a  frightful  scream. 
The  captain  fairly  danced  with  delight  now.  He 
hopped  about,  showering  blows  till  the  flesh  of  the 
man's  back  and  ribs  was  raised  into  a  horrid- 
looking  mass  of  blue  and  red  bumps  and  wales. 
Then  the  inhuman  monster  turned  the  pointed 
end  of  the  yoke  rope  and  lashed  the  victim  till 
all  the  wales  were  cut,  and  the  thick  blood  came 
pouring  out  and  ran  on  to  the  deck.  But  there 
were  no  more  signs  of  agony.  The  man  had 
fainted. 


156  THE  SHELLBACK. 

Only  then  did  the  captain  desist. 

"There,"  he  said,  "I  think  he'll  remember  the 
Peruvian  service.  Take  him  down  and  fasten 
him  up  in  the  lazaret." 

Imagine  a  man  in  this  condition  being  shut 
up  in  the  storeroom,  which  was  below  the  main 
deck,  and  the  only  entrance  to  which  was  through 
a  hatch  under  the  captain's  chair  at  the  head  of 
the  cabin  table ! 

As  soon  as  Ballarat  was  cast  adrift  I  walked  up 
to  Mr.  See  and  held  out  my  hands. 

"What  do  you  want,  sonny?"  he  exclaimed, 
astonished. 

"  My  turn  now,  sir,  I  suppose,  if  Captain  Barton 
isn't  tired  of  his  fun,"  I  said. 

The  third  mate  looked  at  the  captain  inquiringly. 

"Get  below  out  of  this,  you  darned  young 
idiot,"  said  the  latter,  and  he  and  his  friends  left 
the  deck  and  went  to  lunch.  When  I  got  to  our 
berth,  there  was,  of  course,  no  end  of  talk  over  the 
affair. 

"  Look  here,  Biley  dear,"  cried  Barney,  "  for 
God's  sake  don't  split  on  the  men.  It  will  be 
bad  enough  on  them  as  it  is,  but  it  will  be  ten 
times  worse  if  you  let  on  that  they  helped." 

"I  say,  Barney,"  said  I,  "have  you  any  par- 
ticular desire  to  be  kicked  into  the  middle  of 


A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TOKTURR.  157 

next  week?  What  do  you  take  me  for?  Didn't 
those  beasts  try  their  hardest  on  board  the  '  guardo ' 
to  make  me  tell?  Do  you  know  why  little 
Sheman  used  to  work  me  up?" 

"Why,  because  he  hated  a  gentleman,"  said 
Wilkinson. 

"That's  it,"  I  said.  "And  that's  the  men's 
guarantee  that  those  Yankee  blackguards  will  get 
nothing  out  of  me." 

I  then  set  to  work  to  get  something  to  eat, 
and  was  just  making  a  beginning,  when  the  voice 
of  Scouse,  our  steward,  fell  upon  our  ears, 
saying : 

"The  captain  wants  you  down  to  lunch."  This 
with  the  usual  embellishment  of  monstrous  stut- 
terings. 

"  You  can  tell  the  captain,  Scouse,  that  I'm  at 
my  breakfast  and  lunch  here,  and  that  he  may 
go  to  Jericho,  or  farther,  just  as  it  may  happen  to 
suit  him.  Git!" 

By-and-by  the  boatswain  looked  in. 

"  Guess,  boy,  you'd  jes'  best  go  to  the  old  man 
without  no  darned  nonsense." 

"Guess,  Bo'sun,"  I  replied,  "the  old  man  had 
jes'  best  come  and  fetch  me,  and  bring  his  darned 
yoke  rope  with  him." 

I  was   quite    desperate,   and   felt  as    if  I    were 


1 58  THE  SHELLBACK. 

drunk.     But  it  was  with  rage  at    the   brutality  I 
had  witnessed. 

In  a  few  minutes  more  the  captain's  steward 
came  down. 

"The  captain  wants  you,  Eiley,  to  lunch  in 
the  cabin." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "I  may  as  well  go  and  see  it 
there  is  anything  in  it." 

So  I  let  fly  a  big  biscuit  at  Dips,  gave  him  a 
volley  of  semi-Irish  Yankee  abuse,  and  told  him 
to  tell  the  captain  I  was  coming.  When  I  at  last 
condescended  to  enter  the  sacred  precincts  of  the 
cabin,  I  found  the  six  clean-shaven,  lantern-jawed 
skippers — the  local  preachers  out  of  work — seated 
at  the  table  enjoying  a  breakfast  that  made  my 
mouth  water.  Everybody  looked  so  kindly  at  me 
that  I  began  to  smell  a  rat,  so  I  got  my  quills 
ready  to  bristle,  and  was  quite  on  my  guard. 
The  captain  made  no  allusion  to  my  tremendous 
insolence,  but  said  quite  calmly  and  pleasantly: 

"  Sit  down,  boy,  and  have  some  breakfast.  You 
had  none  this  morning,  I  suppose,  aboard  the 
'guardo'?" 

"  Oh  yes,  sir,  I  did,"  I  replied.  "  Vaughan — you 
remember  Vaughan,  sir"  (the  skipper  looked  ugly), 
"  Vaughan  brought  me  a  good  feed  and  a  tot  He's 
joined  the  Peruvian  service." 


A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TORTURE.  159 

I  saw  the  old  man  did  not  like  my  allusion  to 
Vaughan,  so  I  was  going  on  to  say  some  more 
about  how  happy  Vaughan  was,  and  what  good 
tucker  they  got  on  the  "guardo,"  when  he  inter- 
rupted me  with: 

«0h,  d the  '  guardo  '1  That's  been  a  little 

unpleasant  experience  for  you,  that's  all  Do  you 
no  sort  of  harm.  Steward !  bring  a  clean  plate 
here.  Give  the  youngster  a  cup  of  coffee." 

All  this  was  very  jolly.  I  ate,  I  drank,  and  I 
ran  that  rascally  Dips  about  in  fine  style.  It  was, 
I  reckoned,  the  only  chance  I  should  ever  have, 
and  I  kept  asking  him  for  this,  that,  and  the 
other,  till  I  believe  he  would  have  poisoned  me, 
if  he  could. 

Then  I  thought:  "Hang  it!  He  can't  mean 
to  flog  me  after  this!" 

No,  he  did  not  mean  to  flog  me,  but  he  had 
a  deeper  design.  As  soon  as  lunch,  or  breakfast, 
as  I  called  it,  was  over,  he  said: 

"Now,  I  wonder  what  on  earth  could  have 
induced  you  to  run  away  from  the  ship,  youngster  ? 
You've  been  aboard  other  ships,  you've  been  aboard 
limej  ulcers.  Have  you  ever  seen  one  ship  where 
the  boys  are  berthed  as  comfortably  as  you  are? 
Have  you  seen  better  food  than  you  get  here  ? 
Where  would  you  see  white  bread  like  this" 


160  THE  SHELLBACK. 

(holding  up  one  of  our  American  biscuits),  "  served 
out  forrard?  Where  do  you  find  the  men  laying 
aft  for  Grog  ho !  every  evening  ?  You  are  not 
over-worked,  and  I  take  the  trouble  to  teach  you 
your  profession — seamanship  and  navigation.  What 
more  can  you  expect  of  rne  ? " 

"  Good — hear  him — hear  him  ! "  was  the  chorus 
of  the  local  preachers. 

.  "  I  don't  complain  of  anything,"  I  said,  "  except 
your  cruelty  and  the  mate's  bullying.  I  never 
know  when  my  turn  will  come.  Look  at  Murray 
to-day.  I  don't  know  why  I  wasn't  served  in  the 
same  manner,  but  the  anxiety  of  expecting  it 
made  it  a  cruelty  to  me." 

"Why  didn't  I  flog  you,  boy?  Because  I  like 
you.  I've  taken  it  into  my  head  that  there's 
the  making  of  a  good  sailor  in  you,  and  I  don't 
want  to  drive  you  out  of  the  profession.  That's 
why  I've  never  flogged  you,  and  why  I  never  shall. 
But,  tell  me,  how  did  you  manage  to  get  that 
great  heavy  leather  box  of  yours  over  the  side? 
I  suppose  Murray  was  in  the  boat  to  receive 
it?" 

"Ho!  ho!"  thought  I.  "Now  I  see  the  little 
game.  You  want  to  pump  me.  You'll  have  to 
get  up  before  you  go  to  bed  if  you  want  to  catch 
ine  splitting  on  shipmates." 


A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TORTURE.  161 

"No,  sir,  Murray  and  I  lowered  it  down,  and 
the  Dago  in  the  boat  received  it" 

"Well,  but  when  you  were  both  in  the  boat," 
he  continued,  "how  could  the  rope  you  went 
down  by  get  on  deck  again?" 

This  was  a  cunning  question,  but  I  was  equal 
to  it. 

"As  soon  as  we  were  in  the  boat,  sir,  Murray 
coiled  up  the  rope  and  hove  it  on  board  again." 
I  had  him  there,  I  thought. 

"Reckon  you  keep  anchor  watch  some,  don't 
you,  cap'en  ? "  asked  one  of  the  preachers. 

"Yes,  of  course,"  replied  the  captain  hastily. 
"Where  was  the  anchor  watch  when  you  were 
getting  away?" 

Now  this  very  difficulty  Father  Parkes  had 
foreseen,  and  had  provided  for.  The  two  men  of 
the  watch  had  been  instructed  that,  if  questioned, 
they  were  to  say  that  I  had  brought  them  a 
message  from  the  captain  that  they  were  to  keep 
watch  at  the  break  of  the  quarter-deck.  So  1 
was  quite  ready  for  the  question  "Where  were 
the  anchor  watch  ? "  "  Aft,  sir,"  said  I. 

"  Aft,  eh  ?  What  in  the  'tarnel  thunder  was  them 
men  doin'  aft  ? "  asked  another  melancholy  individual 

''They  got  word  passed  from  the  captain  that 
they  were  to  keep  watch  aft,  sir." 


1 62  THE  SHELLBACK. 

"Got  word  from  me,  boy!  I  gave  no  such 
fool  of  an  order,"  said  the  captain. 

"  Well,  I  expect  I  thought  you  did,  sir,"  I  said. 
"Now  I  expect  I  thought  wrong.  Anyhow,  I 
passed  the  order  on  to  them." 

"  'Cute !  darnation  cute ! "  said  one  of  the  solemn 
ones. 

"Now  listen  here,  boy,"  said  the  captain. 
"Nothing  will  come  of  what  you  say  here.  I 
only  want  to  know  if  I'm  right  in  my  idea  of 
the  Dutchmen." 

"  The   Dutchmen,    sir,"    I    said,    "  are   a    d 

pack  of  slouches.     I  wouldn't  trust  them  if  they 
swore  on  a  shipload  of  Bibles." 

As  for  the  rest  of  the  crew,  I  stoutly  denied 
that  any  of  them  had  helped  us  to  get  away. 

They  all  tried  me,  these  captains,  coaxing  and 
bullying  by  turns,  but  it  was  only  a  waste  of  their 
breath.  One  great  sad-looking  skipper  took  me  on 
his  knee,  and  stroked  my  hair,  and  gave  me  a  drink 
out  of  his  tumbler,  and  "  reckoned  I'd  let  him  know." 
But  I  finished  his  liquor  for  him,  stuck  to  my  colours, 
and  implicated  no  one.  The  skipper — my  skipper,  I 
mean — heaved  a  heavy  sigh,  and  said — 

"  Well,  never  mind,  lad ;  if  you  won't  tell,  you 
won't.  But,  boy,  you  grieved  me  to  the  soul  when 
you  said  you  did  not  like  me  or  my  ship.  There, 


A  POOR  SEAMAN'S  TORTURE.  163 

go  on  deck,  and  don't  be  foolish  any  more.  Try  to 
look  on  me  as  your  friend,  for  I  wish  to  be  a  friend 
to  you." 

"  Then  you'll  let  Murray  off,  sir  ? "  I  asked. 

"Didn't  I  say  'cute?  Darnation  'cute?  Eh, 
cap'en  ? "  said  the  former  maker  of  this  remark. 

"Hum!"  grunted  Captain  Barton.  "Tell  the 
other  boys  to  get  -ready  to  go  in  the  boat." 

"Yes,  sir.    And  you'll  let  Murray  off,  sir?" 

"Oh,  go  to  h ,  boy!"  he  snapped.  "I'll  see 

about  it  to-night." 

"Good,"  I  thought.  "Murray,  poor  fellow!  will 
at  least  suffer  no  more  cruelties  this  time " ;  and  I 
went  off  delighted  to  have  escaped  so  splendidly. 
The  three  boys  had  been  listening  at  the  skylight, 
and  duly  reported  everything  to  the  men  forward. 
So  they  felt  safe,  as  far  as  I  was  concerned. 

But  the  sage  Father  Parkes  said :  "  Bullies ! 
We  ain't  done  with  the  old  man  by  a  long  chalk. 
Do  you  mind  what  he  said  ? — '  I've  marked  you 
men.'  That  was  us  as  held  out  till  them  white- 
livered  swabs  began  feelin'  for  their  shootin'  irons. 
He'll  play  us  a  dog's  trick  yet." 

And  Parkes  was  right. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST! 

WE  boys  got  the  boat  ready  and  pulled  to  the 
guardship.  The  captain  went  on  board  and  re- 
ported his  crew  in  a  state  of  mutiny,  and  asked 
for  assistance.  A  boatload  of  soldiers  was  at  once 
sent  to  the  ship,  and  six  of  our  best  men  were 
taken  off  to  be  kept  in  prison  until  the  ship  left. 
Thus  only  one  man,  Yaughan,  succeeded  in  getting 
clear  of  our  pandemonium.  Half  a  dozen  "  chow- 
lies"  came  on  board  to  work  cargo  instead  of  our 
own  so-called  mutineers. 

After  this  there  occurred  nothing  particularly 
exciting.  We  made  a  few  more  trips  to  the  main- 
land, and  saw  the  last  of  Pisco  and  its  splendid 
pier,  built,  I  believe,  by  Messrs.  Peto,  Brassey  and 
Betts,  renowned  for  their  railway  contracts  in  Aus- 
tralia, and  yet  further  well  known  in  the  person  of 
Lord  Brassey,  who  toured  the  world  in  his  yacht 
Sunbeam,  and  who  afterwards  became  Governor  of 
the  colony  of  Victoria. 

The  pier  and  town  have,  I  believe,  since  been  over- 
whelmed by  a  tidal  wave,  and  are  utterly  destroyed. 

The  day  after  his  punishment  Ballarat  had  been 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  165 

sent  forward,  and  in  ten  days  was  at  work  again. 
Johnston,  who  had  been  brought  back  from  the 
"Guardo,"  also  was  turned  to. 

One  day,  just  previous  to  our  departure,  the 
ship  Hellespont  came  in  to  load.  In  entering  the 
roads  she  ran  over  a  Pisco  market-boat,  and  the 
boatman,  being  unable  to  swim,  was  drowned.  The 
man  was  identified  as  the  very  fellow  who  had  so 
treacherously  betrayed  us.  Then  she  dropped  her 
anchor  before  way  was  off  her,  and  the  cable 
parted,  thus  causing  her  to  lose  an  anchor  and 
fifty  or  sixty  fathoms  of  chain.  It  was  the 
clumsiest  bring-to  we  had  seen  since  our  arrival 
'five  or  six  months  ago. 

Before  leaving  the  island  I  may  as  well  describe 
tho  country  about  Pisco.  It  is  (or,  rather,  was) 
situated  on  the  coast,  surrounded  by  beauti- 
fully kept  vegetable  and  fruit  gardens.  There  was 
no  rain  to  irrigate  the  land,  but  a  heavy  dew 
(garua)  fell  every  evening  and  supplied  the  necessary 
moisture.  The  land  was  marvellously  fertile,  and 
the  crops  produced  were  equal  to  anything  I  have 
seen  in  countries  favoured  with  a  regular  rainfall 

At  the  back  of  the  town  rose  the  coast  range 
of  sandy  hillocks,  piled  .antastically  one  behind  and 
above  the  other.  Beyond  these  lay  fertile  valleys, 
and  beyond  the  valleys  rose  the  magnificent  chain 


1 66  THE  SHELLBACK. 

of  the  Andes.  The  river  Amazon  rises  near  Huanco, 
a  town  situated  in  a  plain  between  the  Andes  and 
the  coast  range,  which  is  a  continuation  of  the  plain 
behind  Pisco.  No  remarkable  peaks  are  visible  from 
here,  but  the  grand  ranges  rising  to  beyond  the 
region  of  cloud  and  perpetual  snow  give  a  good 
idea  of  the  stupendous  western  watershed  of  South 
America. 

We  never  saw  a  shower  of  rain  nor  experienced 
a  strong  breeze  whilst  we  lay  at  the  Chinchas.  The 
ocean  here  may  well  claim  the  name  of  Pacific — 
from  May  to  October,  at  any  rate. 

At  length  the  joyful  day  arrived  when  the  last 
bargeload  of  guano  came  off.  The  lower  hold  was 
full,  and  guano  was  piled  up  above  this  in  the  form 
of  a  house  roof.  This  method  of  stowing  was  to 
prevent  the  dead  weight  from  working  the  ship 
too  much.  As  it  settled  it  would  solidify  into  a 
solid  mass,  and  there  would  be  no  danger  of  shift- 
ing cargo.  The  hatches  were  put  on  for  the  last 
time,  and  at  once  battened  down. 

Now  that  the  time  for  sailing  was  actually 
within  measurable  distance,  the  men  worked  with 
a  will.  For  five  months  they  had  been  heaving  in 
cargo  and  trimming  it  below  with  shovels  in  a 
suffocating  atmosphere  of  aininoniacal  dust.  When 
not  employed  at  this  work,  they  were  sent  over 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  167 

the  side  or  up  aloft  scrubbing  and  cleaning,  besides 
washing  and  holystoning  decks.  Their  labours 
began  at  six  am.  and  ended  at  six  p.m.,  and  dur- 
ing the  whole  of  that  time  they  worked  under  the 
eye  of  officers  who  would  not  give  them  a  moment's 
spell.  For  the  time  being  their  lot  was  far  harder 
than  that  of  a  farm  labourer  at  home,  and  they 
were  constantly  in  dread  of  being  brutally  assaulted. 
At  sea  it  was  very  different,  and  all  were  cheer- 
fully looking  forward  to  "blue  water"  again. 

I  have  given  my  last  look  at  the  Chincha  Islands, 
at  the  guano,  the  chowlies,  the  vigilantes,  the  old 
guardship,  and  at  Pisco  and  its  market-boats  (I 
shall  always  hate  the  name  ot  a  Pisco  market- 
boat).  I  and  my  mates  have  hoisted  up  the  captain's 
boat  for  the  last  time  in  these  waters.  We  have 
stowed  away  the  oars  and  the  fancy  tiller,  and  I 
presented  Barney  and  Wilkinson  each  with  a  yoke 
rope  to  put  away  carefully  until  required  for  use 
by  the  captain.  Somehow  my  forethought  was  not 
appreciated  by  these  young  sea-cubs.  And  now 
we  stand  idly  looking  about  before  tea.  All  the 
sails  have  been  bent.  There  will  be  no  more  "  foul 
hawse"  to  clear,  as  we  are  riding  at  single  anchor, 
the  starboard  anchor  having  been  hove  up  and 
catted.  It  would  not  be  fished  till  to-morrow.  The 
men  are  having  a  jolly  time  in  the  forecastle.  Two 


1 68  THE  SHELLBACK. 

hands  had  been  sent  ashore  in  the  afternoon  to 
bring  off  some  stores,  but  when  the  boat  left  the 
mole  for  the  last  time  they  were  missing.  It  was 
generally  thought  that  they  had  run,  and,  as  the 
vessel  was  to  sail  next  day,  they  were  congratulated 
on  the  lucky  chance.  But  about  six  bells  in  the 
second  dog-watch,  a  shore-boat  came  alongside  in 
a  desperate  hurry,  and  a  long  way  astern  of  her 
was  a  police-boat  in  full  chase.  The  shore-boat 
contained  our  two  men,  who  ran  up  the  Jacob's 
ladder  at  the  swinging  boom  and  popped  down 
into  the  forecastle.  By-and-by  the  police-boat 
came  alongside,  and  a  petty  officer  strutted 
up  to  the  second  mate  and  demanded  the  two 
men. 

"What  two  men  d'ye  mean?"  asked  the  latter. 

"Vy,  ze  two  prijionares,"  said  the  Peruvian 
official. 

"  Two  prisoners  ?  We've  got  no  prisoners. 
You've  made  a  mistake.  Get  your  eyes  skinned 
by  the  nearest  barber.  This  isn't  the  'Guardo,'" 
said  the  second  mate. 

"  No,  no,  sair !  No  ze  guardsheep.  Ze  man  wid 
ze  bottle." 

"What  the  deuce  is  the  man  talking  about, 
Mr.  See  ? "  asked  Mr.  Marshall  of  the  third  mate 
who  was  standing  by,  grinning. 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  169 

"Be  hanged  if  I  know,  sir.  I  expect  he's 
drunk,"  replied  Mr.  See. 

"  Dronk,  sare ! "  gasped  the  enraged  little  Peru- 
vian. "I  sail  make  you  to  know  zat  ze  Peru- 
vian gentleman  nevare  get  drunk,  sare.  Are  you 
ze  eapitain  ? " 

Now,  as  Mr.  Marshall  happened  to  be  in  full 
charge  whilst  the  captain  was  on  shore,  and  we 
had  no  mate,  he  was,  for  the  moment,  as  good  as 
captain,  so  he  drawled  out : 

"Waal,  yaas,  I  jes'  calk'late  you  can  go  your 
bottom  dollar  that  I'm  boss  of  the  ranche  at  this 
identical  moment." 

He  could  imitate  the  drawl  to  perfection  when 
he  liked. 

"You  'ave  ze  name  Barton,  eh?"  inquired  the 
officer,  bowing  and  smiling. 

"  I  guess  ef  that  name  fits  any  grinning  idiot,  it'll 
fit  me,  signor,"  said  Mr.  Marshall. 

"  Zen,  Capitan  Barton,  zare,  I  demand  ze  two  men 
— my  prijionares — zay  escape  from  ze  calaboose — zay 
shomp  in  ze  vatare,  and  sviin  for  zis  sheep ! " 
screamed  the  little  man. 

"Sworn  out  identically  to  this  ship,  did  they? 
My  gosh !  they're  smart — some !  Eh !  Mr.  See,  you 
reckon  them  men  smart,  I  guess  ? "  he  asked. 

"  Con-siderable    smart  —  yes,    sirree.      I   reckon 


170  THE  SHELLBACK. 

they're  ring-tailed  roarers ;  they're  fly,  horse,  tail, 
buggy,  and  all,"  replied  Mr.  See,  keeping  up  the 
joke. 

"  Reckon  Jonah  was  a  fool  to  them  two,  Mr. 
See?" 

"Jonah  insider  the  whale  couldn't  swim  worth 
shucks  longer  them  tew,  sir,"  quoth  Mr.  See. 

The  second  mate  turned  to  the  officer  again,  who 
was  impatiently  waiting  for  this  absurd  dialogue  to 
terminate. 

"  Did  I  onderstand  yew  tew  say  as  them  tew  men 
of  mine  tumbled  into  the  drink  [the  sea],  and 
swummed  off  to  this  ship,  sir  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yeez !  yeez !  zey  svim.  I  see  zem  vith  dis  eye ! " 
exclaimed  the  Peruvian. 

"Waal,  sir,"  retorted  Mr.  Marshall,  "you  must 
have  darnation  'cute  sight  tew  be  able  to  see  what 
never  happened.  There  ain't  none  of  my  swine 
corne  off  thet  way,"  Mr.  Marshall  protested. 

"  Zen,  sare,  I  vill  look  de  sheep  trough — now — on 
ze  moment ! "  the  officer  declared. 

"  Waal,  naow,  I  swow !  Du  tell !  You'll  look 
through  my  ship,  will  you  ?  You're  tew  darn  smart, 
you  air.  Mind  you  don't  bore  a  hole  in  her  side  with 
them  crossjack-eyed  gimlets  o'  yourn.  But  I  guess 
nobody  ain't  a-gwine  to  sarch  this  barky  without  my 
leave.  Hev  I  give  leave,  or  hev  I  not,  Mr.  See  ? " 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  171 

"  Nary  leave,  sir  ! " 

"Waal,  naow,  look  hyar,  mister.  You  ain't  got 
no  leave  to  sarch  this  ship,  nor  you  ain't  a-gwine  to 
git  no  leave  nohow  as  you  kin  fix  it ;  so  I'll  be  con- 
sarned  obliged  to  yer  ef  yer'll  git,"  said  Mr.  Marshall, 
who  was  getting  angry. 

"Git?"  replied  the  would-be  searcher.  "Git? 
Vat  sail  I  git  ?  Ze  men  ? " 

"  Men !  No,  darn  yer  yaller  skin !  "  roared  the 
second  mate.  "  Ef  you  don't  reckon  to  make  out 
good  American  talk,  I'll  explanify  to  you.  'Git* 
means  'git  out'!  Vamoose  the  ranche !  Anda  f  via / 
or  overboard  you  go,  so  sure  as  my  name  ain't  Barton. 
Here,  d'Oliver!" — to  our  Spanish  hand — "lay  aft 
here.  Just  you  explain  to  this  gentleman  that  I'm 
obliged  to  him  for  his  visit,  but  that  I'm  not  a  long- 
sufferin'  cherub ;  my  wings  ain't  growed  yet ;  and  if 
he  don't  clear  out  of  this  in  quick  sticks  I'll  chuck 
him  in  the  drink." 

D'Oliver  was  delighted  to  interpret  this.  It  was 
amusing  to  see  the  little  officer.  He  clapped  his 
hand  to  his  sword.  Mr.  Marshall  and  Mr.  See  rolled 
up  their  sleeves.  This  was  enough  for  the  Dago. 
He  spluttered  and  swore  all  sorts  of  "  Carajos !  "  and 
"  Carambas ! "  went  over  the  side  into  his  boat,  and 
that  was  the  last  we  ever  heard  or  saw  of  him. 

The  two  men  were  then  ordered  to  come  aft,  and 


172  THE  SHELLBACK. 

they  said,  as  it  was  the  last  day  ashore,  they  ran  up 
to  get  a  drink  after  putting  the  things  in  the  boat, 
and  they  forgot  the  time.  At  last  they  each  bought 
a  bottle  of  Pisco,  hung  them  round  their  necks  by  a 
lanyard  of  spun  yarn,  and  rolled  down  towards  the 
mole,  roaring  out  songs  and  damning  all  Peruvians 
for  a  set  of  mugwumps.  This  brought  the  vigilantes 
on  them.  The  sailors  bolted  ;  the  soldiers  set  off  in 
chase  of  them.  At  the  end  of  the  mole  were  more 
soldiers ;  so  the  sailors,  partially  sobered,  ran  along 
the  rocks  and  jumped  into  the  sea,  swearing  they 
would  swim  off  to  the  ship.  According  to  their  own 
account,  the  soldiers  did  not  fire,  but  flung  their 
muskets  at  them  as  they  swam,  then  ran  back  to 
the  mole  to  get  a  boat.  Meanwhile,  a  shore-boat 
picked  them  up,  and  for  a  dollar  brought  them  off 
to  the  ship. 

"  And  where's  the  grog  ?  Lost  it,  I  suppose  ? " 
asked  Mr.  Marshall. 

"  No  darn  fear,  sir !  We  brought  that  off  right 
enough,"  they  said. 

"Then  bring  it  aft  here  at  once,"  was  the  reply. 
"  How  dare  you  bring  grog  aboard  the  ship  to  make 
the  hands  unfit  to  heave  up  to-morrow  morning  ? 
Go  and  bring  it  aft,  or  I'll  report  you  to  the  captain." 

The  two  men  looked  at  each  other  and  grinned. 

"  The  best  part  of  it  is  aft,  sir,"  said  one. 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  173 

"  Oh,  I  s'pose  you  got  it  from  them,  Mr.  See,  did 
you  ? "  suggested  Mr.  Marshall. 

"  No,  sir ;  no,  sir.  I  didn't  know  they  had  any," 
said  our  third. 

"  Then  where  is  it,  men,  if  it's  aft  ?  Point  it  out. 
None  of  your  fooling  ! " 

Each  of  the  men  laid  his  hand  on  his  stomach. 
"  Here,  sir,"  they  said. 

"  Go  forrard  out  of  this,  and  no  more  of  your  dog's 
tricks ! "  growled  the  second  mate,  feeling  that  he  had 
been  made  a  fool  of. 

The  men  slouched  forward,  and  the  two  officers 
burst  out  laughing. 

"  Sold  again,  Mr.  Marshall,"  said  L 

"Rather,  sonny,"  he  said. 

Soon  afterwards  the  anchor  watch  was  set,  and 
we  all  turned  in.  No  more  "  all  night  in "  for  us 
after  this.  But  we  did  not  know  the  ropes.  We 
thought  we  were  going  to  sail  straight  for  the 
Horn. 

Next  morning,  a  little  after  daylight,  a  boat 
from  the  guardship  brought  off  our  imprisoned 
men.  The  captain  and  agent  came  in  another. 
The  men  were  sent  down  to  the  main  deck,  where 
there  were  half  a  dozen  empty  cabins,  which,  when 
passengers  were  carried,  used  to  be  the  second 
cabin  quarters.  They  were  locked  up,  and  a 


174  THE  SHELLBACK. 

Peruvian  sailor  was  placed  on  guard  outside  the 
doors,  with  a  drawn  cutlass.  They  were  informed 
that  any  attempt  to  break  out  would  be  punished 
by  a  severe  flogging. 

And  now  the  joyful  words  were  passed.  First 
from  the  captain  came:  "Boy,  go  to  the  flag 
locker,  and  bring  the  Blue  Peter.  Mr.  Marshall, 
get  the  anchor,  sir." 

"Man  the  windlass,"  roared  the  second  mate. 
"Down  below,  two  hands,  and  hook  on  the  tackles. 
Smart  now!  The  Boston  girls  have  got  hold  of 
the  tow-rope." 

The  men  jumped  to   the  windlass. 

"  Loose     the     topsails !      Away    aloft,    some     of 

you!" 

The  idea  of  at  last  getting  away  from  this 
dismal  place  put  life  and  activity  into  the  men. 
The  sails  were  loosed,  sheeted  home,  and  the  yards 
mastheaded. 

The  windlass  breaks  went  smartly  up  and 
down,  and  the  men  broke  into  the  grand  old 
"  shanty  "  "  Shenendoah." 

"Oh,  Shannador,  I  love  your  daughter, 
Hooroar,  you  rolling  river. 
Oh,  Shannador,  I  love  your  daughter, 
Ah-ha!    We're  bound  away 
For  the  bright  Missouri. 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  175 

"For  seven  long  years  I  courted  Sally, 
Hooroar,  you  rolling  river. 
And  seven  more  I  could  not  gain  her. 
Ah-ha !    We're  bound  away 
For  the  bright  Missouri,"  etc.  etc. 

Then  the  "shanty"  changed  to  "John's  gone, 
hilo!"  And  before  long  the  cry  came  from  the 
forecastle  head:  "Hove  short,  sir!" 

The  head  sails  were  set,  a  hand  went  aft  to 
the  wheel,  the  captain  waved  his  hand,  and  with  a 
few  "  Heave  her  down,  lads !  Shake  her  up ! " 
from  the  boatswain  the  ponderous  anchor  was 
broken  from  its  hold,  and  was  soon  hanging  to 
the  cathead.  One  of  our  celebrated  guns  was 
fired — this  time  without  ball — the  yards  were 
trimmed,  and  the  ship  slowly  came  round,  and 
began  her  return  trip  to  Callao.  The  breeze  was 
very  light,  and  the  crowd  of  boats  that  accom- 
panied us  had  no  difficulty  in  keeping  alongside. 
Our  dear  old  chums,  the  Earl  of  Elgin  8  appren- 
tices, came  on  board,  and  we  all  had  a  farewell 
yarn  and  glass  in  our  berth.  For  two  miles, 
about,  the  boats  kept  with  us,  when  the  captains 
and  civilians  who  had  breakfasted  on  board  went 
down  into  their  respective  boats.  We  gave  them 
another  gun,  the  men  jumped  into  the  ri-_ 
and  gave  them  a  rousing  cheer,  whilst  I  ran  aft 


176  THE  SHELLBACK. 

and  dipped  the  Stars  and  Stripes  three  times. 
An  answering  cheer  came  back  from  a  hundred 
throats,  and  we  were  left  to  watch  the  race 
back — a  race  we  had  more  than  twenty  times 
taken  our  part  in.  We  felt  naturally  a  little  sad 
at  parting  with  our  friends,  but  a  sailor  has  no 
time  or  inclination  to  be  unhappy.  "Begone,  dull 
care,"  is  his  motto.  Besides,  we  were  homeward 
bound,  which  was  everything.  Soon  the  islands 
and  shipping  faded  in  the  distance  and  became  a 
mere  dream  of  the  past.  I  registered  a  vow 
then  and  there  that  with  my  own  consent,  barring 
being  wrecked  and  picked  up  at  sea,  or  on  an 
island  in  the  Pacific,  I  would  never  put  foot  on 
board  a  ship  bound  for  Callao  and  the  Chinchas. 
One  such  experience  is  enough  for  a  lifetime. 

We  now  made  all  sail,  and  before  noon,  with 
every  stitch  of  canvas  set  that  would  draw,  we 
bowled  along  before  a  freshening  breeze,  and  made 
a  splendid  passage  of  thirty-six  hours. 

As  soon  as  the  ropes  were  coiled  up,  and  the 
ship  generally  put  in  some  decent  order,  the  fish 
davit  was  rigged  and  the  anchors  got  over  the 
bows  inboard;  the  watches  were  chosen,  and  then 
the  captain  called  us  boys  down  into  the  cabin. 
He  was  all  amiability  as  he  told  us  to  sit  down. 
He  called  the  steward  to  open  some  bottled  ale 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  177 

and  bring  in  bread  and  cheese.  He  told  us  we 
should  clear  from  Callao  in  about  a  week,  and 
go  to  Cork  for  orders,  and,  continuing,  said: 

"  Now,  boys,  you  have  a  long  passage  before 
you.  The  ship,  as  you  know,  is  not  a  clipper, 
nor  even  a  decently  fast  sailer,  so  you  will  have 
plenty  of  time  to  learn  seamanship  and  naviga- 
tion. Take  my  advice,  and  make  the  most  of  it 
If  we  get  bad  weather  off  Cape  Horn  or  the 
Kiver  Plate,  you  will  stand  a  chance  of  learning 
more  than  I  should  care  for  you  to  learn, 
if  I  could  help  it.  But  a  sailor  has  got  to 
be  prepared  for  all  possible  emergencies.  We 
don't  want  to  be  dismasted,  nor  lose  a  rudder, 
nor  take  fire,  nor  spring  a  leak;  but  any  one  of 
these  things  may  happen,  and  if  you  never  see 
it  done,  how  can  you  rig  a  temporary  rudder 
when  it  comes  to  your  turn  to  do  it  ?  You  can't 
do  it  altogether  out  of  books,  although  they  are 
a  great  help.  Now,  see  that  you  work,  and  I'll 
help  you.  Two  of  you  have  had  an  experience 
which  will,  I  hope,  last  you  your  lifetime;  and 
you,  Boyd,  were  nearly  getting  the  like  experience. 
You've  all  got  the  makings  of  good  sailors  in 
you,  so  don't  throw  away  this  opportunity.  Now, 
I'm  going  to  entrust  you  with  the  guarding  of 
the  men  below.  You'll  take  two  hours  each. 
U 


178  THE  SHELLBACK. 

But  mind !  Not  a  word  to  them !  If  I  hear  you 
utter  one  syllable  to  them  below  there,  I'll  stop 
your  leave  in  Callao,  and  punish  you  otherwise 
besides.  You,  Banks  and  Wilkinson,  take  care  never 
to  strike  a  superior  officer  again.  In  the  United 
States  Navy,  in  which  I  have  served,  it  is  death. 
Put  up  with  anything ;  come  to  me,  if  you  have 
any  reasonable  cause  of  complaint ;  but  don't  make 
silly  complaints  about  being  hard-worked.  If  you 
get  your  regular  watches  below,  you  cannot  be 
over-worked.  Now,  finish  this  beer,  and  go  on 
deck.  Remember  what  I've  told  you." 

To  this  remarkable  harangue  we  could  only 
say,  "Thank  you,  sir,"  and  leave  the  cabin.  But 
when  we  were  out  of  earshot  Barney  said: 

"Gammon,  Riley,  all  gammon!" 

"Is  he  drunk,  do  you  think?"  I  asked. 

"  Drunk  be  bio  wed  ! "  said  Wilkinson.  "  He's 
got  some  point  to  work,  you  bet  he  has." 

"Well,  Oi  don't  know,"  said  Sharpe;  "but 
faith !  the  dhrink  was  moighty  refreshin'." 

Barney  took  first  guard  over  the  men,  and 
his  tongue  was  in  his  cheek  as  he  dived  down 
the  ladder. 

In  two  hours  I  went  below  to  the  'tw:en 
decks  to  relieve  Barney. 

"Where's  the  old  man,  Riley?"  he  asked. 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  179 

"  In  the  cabin,"  I  replied. 

"That's  bully.  I'll  be  back  directly,"  and 
Barney  made  off  up  the  ladder. 

I  sat  down  at  the  foot  of  it,  and  began  my 
watch.  Barney  was  back  in  a  few  minutes.  He 
had  some  pieces  of  boiled  beef  with  him. 

"  Slip  up,  Eiley,  and  kape  your  eye  on  the 
companion.  If  the  old  man  comes  up,  moind 
yez  have  not  relieved  me  yet,  but  are  just  goin' 
to  do  it.  Ill  know  what  it  means  whin  I  hear 
yez  coming." 

I  saw  at  once  what  he  was  at,  so  I  went  up  on 
deck  and  walked  about  with  my  eye  on  the  cabin 
companion.  In  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  Barney 
sang  out: 

"Riley!  Isn't  it  about  time  you  came  and 
stood  watch  here  instead  of  me  ? " 

"All  right,  Barney,  I'm  coming,"  I  replied,  and 
I  went  down  as  he  came  up.  I  was  just  about  to 
signal  to  Parkes  in  one  of  the  berths,  when  J  saw 
the  captain's  boots  coming  down  the  ladder.  As 
I  knew  he  would  be  in  them,  I  quickly  sheered  off 
from  the  berths  and  got  over  to  the  starboard 
side,  the  men  being  in  the  port  cabins.  Down  he 
came  and  looked  at  me.  I  looked  as  innocent  and 
demure  as  a  cat  who  has  successfully  stolen  the 
cream. 


i8o  THE  SHELLBACK. 

"  Have  the  men  been  talking  to  you  ? "  lie  asked, 
suspiciously. 

"No,  sir;  I've  only  just  this  minute  relieved 
Banks." 

"Hum!"  he  grunted.  "Kemember  what  I  told 
you  " ;  and  he  marched  up  on  deck  again.  He  was 
a  very  cunning  man,  our  skipper,  but  we  boys 
were  quite  a  match  for  him. 

The  cook,  Edward  Brown,  and  his  wife  Sarah, 
had  a  berth  on  the  starboard  side,  right  opposite 
the  prisoners*  berths.  What  more  natural  than  that 
the  lovely  Sarah  should  be  coming  down  with  a  pot 
of  hot  water  at  any  time  to  her  cabin?  Singu- 
larly enough,  Sarah  came  down  five  or  ten  minutes 
after  the  captain  had  gone  on  deck. 

"Hello,  Riley!"  she  said.  "Are  you  on  guard 
now?  Guess  you'd  best  not  open  you  mouth  to 
them  trash  in  there.  Ef  you  dew,  I'm  boun'  to 
tell  de  ole  man." 

Then  she  looked  at  me  in  a  peculiar  manner, 
and  rather  shaped  the  words  with  her  mouth  than 
whispered : 

"Ole  man  on  watch  close  to  ladder." 
I  winked  to  show  that  I  understood,  and  said 
aloud : 

"You  don't  catch  me  getting  into  trouble, 
Sarah,  for  keeping  my  mouth  too  wide  open  I'e 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST  I  181 

only  two  hours   to  do,  and  I  can  keep  it  shut  for 
that  length  of  time,  anyhow.     I  say,  Sarah " 

"  Well,  what  is  it  ?  Course,  I  'spect  you  want 
something." 

"Sarah,  doesn't  the  doctor  [cook]  keep  a  tot 
of  something  good  in  the  cabin,  eh?"  I  asked 
coaxingly. 

"  Ah !  glong,  you  young  scamp !  Boys  like  you 
don't  want  no  tots,"  she  said. 

"  Oh,  but  I  say,  Sarah,  listen,  you  know.  Fancy 
staying  down  here  for  two  mortal  hours  without 
a  soul  to  talk  to !  A  drop  of  real  Monongahela  or 
even  Pisco  would  do  me  good,"  and  I  winked  at 
her  again. 

This  good  soul  understood. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  apparently  relenting,  "  ef  you're 
a  good  boy  and  obeys  orders,  and  promises  me  as 
you  won't  go  near  them  prisoners,  I'll  see  by-and- 
by  when  I  comes  back." 

She  then  went  on  deck  In  half  an  hour  the 
cook  himself  came  down,  opened  his  cabin  door, 
and  went  in.  In  a  minute  or  two  he  opened  it 
again,  and  whispered: 

11  Hi,  sonny !  Look  sharp !  You  jes*  pass 
dat  ar  in,  slick  and  smart.  Sarah's  a-lookin'  out 
Yah!  Yah!" 

So  saying,  he   handed    me    a     small    medicine 


1 82  THE  SHELLBACK. 

measuring  glass,  which  I  saw  would  easily  pass 
through  one  of  the  openings  in  the  fancy  latticed 
ventilators  over  the  cabins.  I  jumped  over 
to  the  port  side  and  scratched  at  the  prisoner's 
door. 

"Parkes!"  I  whispered. 

"Ay,  ay,  sonny!"  was  the  reply. 

"Keep  your  eye  on  the  ventilator." 

"Right  you  air,  my  son.     Heave  ahead." 

The  cook  filled  the  glass  with  rum,  and  I 
managed  to  pass  it  through  to  Parkes. 

This  performance  was  repeated  three  times  at 
each  berth. 

"For  Gorranrity's  sake,  sonny,  light  your  pipe 
quick!  De  whole  cabin  smell  ob  rum,"  ejaculated 
the  doctor.  "De  ole  man  he  smell  a  rum,  den  he 
smell  a  rat,  and  den  you  an*  me  smell  helL  Yah ! 
Yah!" 

I  at  once  lighted  up  and  blew  big  clouds  at 
the  port  side.  At  that  moment  Sarah  came  down 
a  sign  that  the  captain  was  coming. 

"  Put  your  pipe  away,  Riley,"  she  said  hurriedly. 
"De  ole  man's  here." 

Then,  turning  to  her  husband,  she  raised  her 
voice : 

"  Ned,  what  are  you  smokin'  down  here  for — and 
in  the  cabin,  too  ?  Ef  you  don't  stop  it,  I  tell  de  ole 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  183 

man,  s'elp  me  !  You  know  I  can't  abide  de  smell  of 
smoke  down  here." 

The  captain  was  again  in  the  'tween  decks.  He 
was  as  watchful  of  those  men  as  we  were,  only  with 
a  different  object  in  view. 

"Now,  I  say,  cook,  you  know  I  don't  allow 
smoking  down  here,"  said  he.  "  What  the  deuce  do 
you  do  it  for  ? " 

"  S'elp  me  God,  sar,  Cap'en  Barton,  sar,  I  wasn't 
smokin' — no,  sar,  for  shure  !  I  shove  de  pipe  in  my 
pocket  when  I  come  down,  and,  s'elp  me,  it  gone 
keep  alight,  for  shure !  "  he  protested. 

"  Well,  you'd  better  get  back  to  the  galley  now," 
said  the  captain. 

"  Yes,  sar,  cap'en,  sar.  I  go  d'reckly  I  find  lilly 
bit  tobacco,"  was  the  cook's  reply. 

"  I  just  came  down,  Sarah,"  the  captain  then  said, 
"  to  tell  you  to  go  and  get  a  couple  of  shirts  out  of 
'my  cabin  that  want  buttons.  You'll  find  them  on 
the  sofa." 

As  soon  as  the  cook  and  his  wife  were  gone,  the 
captain  asked  me  if  I  had  spoken  to  the  men.  I 
declared  I  had  not  spoken  to  the  men — which  was 
quite  true,  as  I  had  only  spoken  to  Parkes.  He  then 
asked  if  they  had  tried  to  speak  to  me.  I  said  no, 
and  I  did  not  think  they  would,  as  they  had  been 
warned  they  would  get  into  more  trouble  if  they  did. 


184  THE  SHELLBACK. 

He  seemed  satisfied,  but  insisted  that  I  should 
report  at  once  to  him  if  they  attempted  to  attract  my 
attention.  He  then  went  away.  I  had  got  my  cue 
from  him.  The  men  were  not  to  draw  my  attention. 
I  was  not  to  speak  to  the  men.  Well,  I  would  only 
speak  to  one  man,  and  /  would  draw  his  attention 
to  me. 

The  fact  is,  we  boys,  the  cook  and  his  wife,  and 
all  hands,  including  even  the  officers,  sympathised 
with  the  poor  fellows.  We  knew  as  well  as  they  did 
what  was  in  store  for  them  on  the  passage  home. 
And  what  had  they  done  ?  Tried  to  save  a  messmate 
from  a  cruel  flogging.  For  this  they  were  imprisoned 
and  were  being  half-starved  on  one  biscuit  (Callao 
bread)  and  a  quart  of  water  twice  a  day.  So  we 
determined  to  outwit  the  captain,  and  by  dint  of 
lying  and  prevarication  we  succeeded  to  perfection. 

Accordingly,  we  determined  they  should  have 
plenty  of  food,  grog,  and  tobacco  whilst  we  had 
charge  of  them.  We  saved  meat  from  every  meal, 
and  cut  it  in  pieces  small  enough  to  pass  through 
the  lattice-work  We  passed  in  tobacco  and  lots  of 
biscuits,  and  every  evening  each  man  got  his  stiff 
tot  of  grog  supplied  by  the  kindly  hearted  black 
cook  and  his  charitable  wife.  Our  wily  captain  had 
not  the  slightest  suspicion  of  what  was  going  on 
under  his  very  nose,  although  he  was  constantly 


THE  BLUE  PETER  AT  LAST!  185 

creeping  down  to  the  'tween  decks  trying  to  surprise 
us ;  but  lie  might  as  well  have  tried  to  catch  the  pro- 
verbial weasel  napping.  Like  the  Australian  bush- 
rangers, we  had  our  bush  telegraphs  everywhere. 

When  any  one  of  the  prisoners  was  let  out  on 
deck,  one  of  us  went  with  him,  and  of  course  we  took 
the  opportunity  to  get  a  smoke.  Equally  of  course,  if 
the  old  man  was  not  about,  we  passed  the  pipe  to 
the  prisoner,  and  he  got  a  comfortable  few  draws 
before  going  below  again.  On  the  whole,  the  men 
had  a  good  time  of  it — no  work,  plenty  of  good 
food,  tobacco,  and  sleep. 


186 


CHAPTER      XII. 

SHIP    ON    FIRE 

HAD  the  captain  discovered  us,  I  do  not  know  what 
would  have  been  the  result,  but  we  had  firm  and 
cunning  allies  in  the  cook  and  his  wife.  Besides,  as 
we  were  only  six-and-thirty  hours  running  back  to 
Callao,  we  were  not  long  enough  on  guard  to  run 
much  risk 

We  were  still  out  of  sight  of  land  when  Captain 
Barton  determined  to  have  a  little  ball  practice  with 
his  guns.  There  was  a  schooner  at  some  distance 
from  us,  heading  in  the  same  direction.  Whether 
our  captain  wanted  to  have  some  fun  with  her,  or 
whether  it  was  accident,  I  do  not  know ;  but  the  first 
shot  fell  close  to  her  bows,  and  the  next  must  have 
whistled  between  her  masts.  Her  captain  probably 
took  us  for  a  pirate,  for  he  hove-to  at  once,  and 
hauled  down  the  flag  he  had  been  dipping  to  us  a 
moment  before.  He  might  possibly  have  mistaken 
us  for  a  man-of-war.  However  that  may  be,  our  old 
man  continued  to  practise  with  the  other  gun,  firing 
out  to  sea,  and  took  no  notice  whatever  of  the  Don, 
who  by-and-by  filled  his  topsail  and  continued  on 


SHIP  ON  FIRE!  187 

his  course.  How  the  affair  would  have  ended  had 
the  schooner  been  going  into  Callao,  or  had  a  war 
ship  hove  in  sight,  I  cannot  say;  but  before  night 
she  hauled  her  wind,  and  we  soon  lost  sight  of  her. 

That  evening  we  ran  into  the  harbour,  and 
anchored  between  two  men-of-war,  to  whom  the 
captain  intimated  that  his  crew  had  mutinied  and 
were  confined  on  board,  requesting  at  the  same  time 
that  they  would  keep  an  eye  on  the  ship. 

Before  we  left  the  islands,  the  captain  of  the  Earl 
of  Elgin  and  our  captain,  who  were  great  cronies,  had 
a  bet  on  as  to  which  vessel  would  be  in  Cork  harbour 
first,  both  being  bound  to  that  port  for  orders.  We 
boys  also  had  little  bets  on  with  the  Elgin  boya 
When  "  good-bye  "  was  said,  the  captain  of  the  Elgin 
invited  our  skipper  to  lunch  on  board  his  vessel  on 
her  arrival  at  Cork  "For,  of  course,"  he  said,  "I 
shall  be  there  long  before  the  Altamont" 

"That  may  be,"  replied  Captain  Barton;  "but  I 
should  strongly  advise  you  to  have  those  dollars 
ready,  as  I  mean  to  realise  the  stakes." 

We  also  told  the  boys  we  would  have  tea  all 
ready  for  them  on  their  arrival — that  is,  if  we  had 
not  by  that  time  discharged  cargo  and  sailed  for 
New  York  or  San  Francisco. 

The  captain,  having  now  placed  his  ship,  so  to  speak, 
under  surveillance,  ordered  us  to  pull  him  ashore  the 


1 88  THE  SHELLBACK. 

next  morning  after  breakfast.  We  got  ourselves  up 
in  our  go-ashore  clothes.  The  quarter  boat  had  been 
painted  ;  nice  gratings  had  replaced  the  old  boards  in 
the  sternsheets ;  cushions  were  used  instead  of  flags 
the  famous  tiller  had  been  scraped  and  sandpapered 
till  it  looked  quite  lovely;  and  the  now  historical 
yoke  ropes  had  been  freshly  painted  white,  the  Turks' 
heads,  rose-knots,  and  points  being  picked  out  with 
sky-blue. 

As  soon  as  the  captain  had  landed  we  asked  per- 
mission to  go  ashore.  This  he  granted,  on  condition 
that  one  boy  stayed  to  take  care  of  the  boat.  The 
question  then  arose,  Who  should  stay  ?  Now  Billy 
Sharpe  (otherwise  Mush)  was  very  fond  of  fruit ;  so 
we  engaged  to  supply  him  with  oranges  and  cheri- 
moyas  (custard  apples)  if  he  would  remain  and  look 
after  her.  He  did  not  care  for  sight-seeing,  but 
preferred  sleeping. 

"  You  see,"  he  used  to  say,  "  I've  made  a  calcu- 
lation that  the  old  hooker  will  take  at  least  six 
months  to  land  me  among  the  Lord's  own  people 
at  Cork's  own  town.  That  means  only  three 
months'  sleep,  and  if  you  add  to  that  another 
month  taken  out  of  your  watch  below  for  'all 
hands'  and  dog-watches,  I  shall  only  get  two 
months'  sleep  out  of  six,  so  it's  a  duty  I  owe 
to  myself  to  get  all  the  sleep  I  can.  You  send 


ON  FIRE  !  189 

down  the  fruit,  and  I'll  eat  and  sleep  till  you  come 
back.' 

We  laughed,  and  jumped  ashore.  We  bought 
enough  fruit  to  keep  Billy  going  for  two  or  three 
hours,  including  his  interludes  of  sleep,  and  then  away 
we  went.  The  first  thing  we  did  was  to  stuff  ourselves 
with  fruit,  and  then  we  wandered  about  the  streets, 
making  fun  of  the  extraordinary-looking  people  we 
met.  We  saw  some  Peruvian  swells,  dressed  in 
tall  hats  and  ponchos,  looking  contemptuously  on 
everyone  else.  Probably  the  poor  beggars  had  not 
an  ounce*  in  the  world  to  bless  themselves  with, 
but  they  were  as  proud  and  as  dirty  as  any  of 
their  Spanish  hidalgo  ancestors.  They  considered 
themselves,  I  suppose,  as  hijos  de  algo  (sons  of 
somebody).  Everybody  was  smoking — women  as 
well  as  men  and  boys. 

When  the  women  wanted  to  gossip,  they  put 
their  cigars  behind  their  ears,  as  clerks  do  a  pen. 
Having  amused  ourselves  for  a  couple  of  hours,  we 
reckoned  it  was  time  to  go  to  the  boat,  if  we  did 
not  want  to  find  the  captain  waiting,  in  which  case 
our  future  leave  would  be  stopped. 

When  we  got  to  the  mole  I  was  hailed  by  a 
big  black-bearded  man,  whom  I  soon  made  out  to 
be  Captain  Hawkins  of  the  Phoenix,  which  vessel 

*  Ounce,  a  gold  coin  worth  about  £3. 


THE  SHELLBACK. 

I  mentioned  as  having  been  burnt  at  the  Williams- 
town  Pier  in  Melbourne. 

"  Great  thunder,  boy  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Whar 
hev  3'ou  sprung  from?" 

I  told  him  that,  as  I  was  unable  to  go  in  his 
ship,  I  had  shipped  aboard  the  Altamont. 

"  Waal,  I  am  of  opinion/'  he  said,  "  that  by  this 
time  you  wish  you'd  stayed  in  Melbourne,  eh? 
Come  over  here  and  hev  a  snifter." 

We  went  into  a  store  and  had  what  he  called 
a  ft  snifter,"  and  I  told  him  rapidly  as  much  as  I 
could  of  what  I  had  seen  and  experienced  since 
leaving  Melbourne,  but  added  that  I  liked  the  sea- 
faring part  of  the  business,  but  what  I  did  not 
like  was  the  bullying  and  flogging  and  "  working- 
up/' 

"Oh!  So  yer  don't  like  being  ' hazed/  don't 
yer,  boy  ?  Why,  ye  ain't  seen  half  what's  to  come. 
Do  you  know  your  old  man's  shipped  a  new  mate  ?" 

"  No,"  I  said.  "  He's  been  quick  about  it. 
What's  his  name  ?  What's  he  like  ?  Where  does 
he  hail  from  ? " 

"Waal,  he's  just  a  smart  man;  as  smart  as 
they  make  'em,  is  Barney  Bray.  That's  his  name. 
As  to  what  he's  like.  Waal,  I  seen  a  play  onst, 
and  thar  war  a  man  in  it  called  Mephistoles 
dressed  in  red ' 


SHIP  ON  FIRE!  191 

"  Mephistopheles  ? "  I  suggested. 

"Maybe,"  said  Hawkins.  "It's  all  the  same, 
but  Barney's  him  to  a  hair.  He's  the  divil,  and  I 
should  say  he  hails  from  the  same  location.  What 
he  don't  know  in  the  way  of  workin'  up  a  crew 
of  scowbankers  ain't  worth  knowing  nor  yet  makin' 
a  three- volume  novel  about." 

"Is  he  American  or  English?"  I  asked. 

"An  Englishman!  A  darn  limejuicer!  Waal, 
sonny,  you  make  me  smile,  yew  do.  An  English- 
man? No.  He  hails  from  somewhere  down  about 
New  England  States,  either  Boston  or  Bristol  or 
Portland — I  don't  know  which,  but  he's  smart.  He 
was  with  me  once,  but  after  he'd  pounded  two 
men  to  death,  gouged  out  the  eyes  of  four  more, 
and  shot  my  steward  at  the  table,  I  thought  it 
was  goin'  jest  a  trifle  too  far.  I  wouldn't  have 
complained  about  the  gougin'  or  shootin',  only  it 
left  me  with  four  blind  men  as  wasn't  no  sorter 
use,  and  there  warn't  a  man  aboard  as  could  make 
pastry  like  my  steward,  so  I  gave  him  an  Al 
recommend,  and  parted  with  him.  Oh,  you  bet 
he's  a  very  smart  man." 

At  this  moment  our  captain  came  along,  and, 
seeing  Captain  Hawkins,  he  came  up  to  us.  They 
had  a  few  moments'  conversation,  and  then  I  was 
ordered  to  go  to  the  boat,  so  I  heard  no  more  for 


1 92  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  time  being  of  the  new  mate.  What  I  had 
heard,  however,  I  retailed  on  board  for  the  benefit 
of  all  hands,  and  it  was  unanimously  decided  that 
we  might  look  out  for  squalls.  By-and-by  a 
couple  of  Indian  half-breeds  came  down  to  the 
boat  carrying  baskets  of  fruit  and  vegetables  and 
a  quantity  of  fresh  meat.  We  pushed  off  and 
struggled  our  way  through  the  mass  of  boats, 
which  are  always  thickly  congregated  at  the  mole, 
and  pulled  back  to  the  ship. 

We  were  now  set  to  work  to  make  our  floating 
home  look  as  smart  as  if  she  were  not  a  floating 
mud-barge.  Cleaning  and  scraping  were  the  order 
of  the  day.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  we  did 
not  notice  any  offensive  odour  now;  even  the 
fumes  of  the  ammonia  were  to  us  imperceptible. 
Whether  it  was  that  we  had  got  so  accustomed 
to  the  smell  during  our  stay  at  the  islands,  or 
that  there  really  was  no  exudation  from  our  cargo, 
I  cannot  say,  but  we  were  never  in  the  least  in- 
commoded by  it.  It  might  have  been  a  cargo  of 
railway  iron  for  all  we  knew. 

The  carpenter  had  made  two  fine-looking  top- 
gallant and  royal  masts  and  yards  out  of  spare 
spars,  and  these  had  been  sent  aloft,  replacing 
those  we  had  lost  previously.  On  the  run  back 
to  Callao,  the  sails  had  been  bent  ,and  running 


SHIP  ON  FIRE!  193 

rigging  rove,  so  that  we  looked  quite  smart.  But 
bitterly  we  used  to  anathematise  these  same  royals 
on  the  passage  home. 

We  did  not  mind  the  main  royal.  It  was  a 
sensible  sail  of  good  dimensions,  and  we  often 
carried  it  when  fore  and  mizzen  royals  were  out 
of  the  question.  But  I  must  not  anticipate. 

We  were  still  working  short-handed,  as  our  six 
prisoners,  on  our  arrival  at  Callao,  had  been  sent 
to  the  guardship  to  remain  there  till  we  were 
ready  to  leave.  Nevertheless,  the  ship  was  rapidly 
got  ready  for  sea.  Everything  that  might  fetch 
away  in  heavy  weather  was  firmly  lashed  to  cleats 
and  ringbolts  in  the  deck.  The  boats,  with  the 
exception  of  the  port  quarter  boat,  were  secured 
inboard,  and  the  gripes  passed  round  them.  All 
the  spare  spars  were  securely  lashed,  and  every- 
thing generally  was  done  to  keep  all  deck  hamper 
in  its  place.  Nothing  remained  but  to  fill  up 
our  water-casks  and  take  our  bread  and  a  few 
quarters  of  fresh  beef  on  board.  These  things  done, 
the  men  would  get  a  day's  holiday  ashore,  and 
then,  ho  !  for  the  stormy  Horn ! 

One  fine  morning  a  barge  came  alongside,  laden 
with  bags    of  bread  (by  bread  biscuits  are  always 
to   be    understood).     This    bread    was    fearful-look- 
ing   stuff.     It  was  impossible  to    break  it  without 
N 


194  THE  SHELLBACK. 

employing  either  a  hammer  or  a  belaying-pin.  It 
was  a  browny-grey  colour,  the  size  of  a  dinner 
plate,  and  an  inch  thick.  Ground  bones  and  rye 
mixed  with  cement  seemed  to  be  the  principal 
component  parts  of  it.  Many  a  time  have  I  taken 
one  of  these  "crusts  of  bread"  on  deck,  to  eat  by 
way  of  killing  time  in  the  watch  on  deck  at  night. 
I  have  started  nibbling  round  the  edge  at  one 
bell,  and  at  eight  bells  the  biscuit  still  held  out 
bravely  against  the  attacks  of  my  ,  teeth,  which 
were  pretty  good.  Unless  it  were  pounded  up, 
no  human  teeth  could  make  any  impression  on 
this  "  Callao  bread."  If  we  could  get  the  cook 
to  dip  it  in  his  slush  tub,  and  then  put  it  in  the 
oven,  it  became  brittle,  and  we  could  manage  it 
fairly  well.  And  this  was  to  be  our  sole  food,  in 
conjunction  with  the  most  mahogany-like  salt  beef, 
during  the  whole  voyage  home. 

I  may  as  well  describe  the  beef  on  which  we 
were  henceforth  destined  to  feed.  To  begin  with, 
there  was  not  an  ounce  of  fat  on  it.  When  it 
was  boiled,  it  sent  out  an  odour  not  of  bad  meat 
but  of  French  polish  or  varnish.  Its  hardness 
was  phenomenal  I  had  never  before  seen  meat 
so  extraordinarily  hard,  nor  have  I  ever  come 
across  its  equal  in  any  other  ships  I  have  sailed 
in.  The  knife  could  not  get  through  it  without 


SHIP  ON  FIRE  !  195 

great  violence  being  used.  The  best  knife  to  cut 
it  with  was  one  with  a  saw-blade.  The  taste  was 
much  like  the  smell.  No  one  would  have  im- 
agined it  to  be  beef.  There  was  a  saying  on  board 
that  it  had  been  put  up  in  1854  for  the  use  of 
the  British  fleet  in  the  Black  Sea,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Crimean  War,  and  had  been 
condemned  because  a  board  of  butchers  could  not 
decide  what  meat  it  was.  It  was  then  sold  by 
auction,  so  the  legend  ran,  was  bought  up  by  some 
Yankee  speculator,  a  brother  of  Captain  Barton, 
who  exchanged  it  with  the  latter  for  the  beef 
supplied  by  the  owners  as  soon  as  he  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  Altamont.  Of  course,  this  was 
all  nonsense,  but  any  yarn  suits  Jack,  especially 
if  it  tells  against  the  skipper. 

The  pork  was  a  dreadful  mass  of  greasy  abom- 
ination. Imagine  an  enormous  piece  of  yellow 
pig's  blubber  on  the  table,  not  a  sign  of  lean  on 
it,  nothing  but  the  flabby,  fat  tissue,  which  could 
be  cut  with  a  piece  of  string. 

But  enough  on  this  unsavoury  topic.  These 
were  to  be  our  rations  for  from  five  to  six  months. 
Visions  of  that  sea  -  scourge,  scurvy,  floated 
before  our  eyes,  but  we  were  helpless  in  the 
matter. 

To    return    to    the   bread    barge,  which    I    left 


196  THE  SHELLBACK. 

alongside.  All  hands  were  told  off  to  carry  the  bags 
up  the  gangway  plank.  Now  our  gangway  plank 
was  very  long,  very  steep  (in  spite  of  our  deep 
loading),  and  very  springy,  and  it  was  only  pro- 
tected by  a  life-line  passing  through  the  eyes  of 
three  stanchions.  I  believe  the  captain  reckoned 
on  a  mishap,  for  he  issued  an  order  to  the  effect 
that  anyone  who  allowed  a  bread-bag  to  fall  over- 
board should  have  nothing  to  eat  but  the  damaged 
bread  till  he  had  finished  it. 

The  work  of  transhipping  began.  Amongst  the 
rest,  we  boys  must  go  and  help  carry  it  up, 
although  we  were  not  obliged  to  do  so.  We 
thought  it  fun,  because  we  could  stagger  up  the 
plank  with  a  bag  on  our  backs  and  block  all  the 
men  on  it,  until  they  were  in  a  perpetual  state  of 
growl,  as  they  could  not  rest  their  bags  on  the 
frail,  yielding  rope,  whilst  we,  being  at  the  top, 
placed  ours  on  the  rail,  and  laughed  at  them  till 
the  second  mate  hunted  us  off.  But  Nemesis  was 
on  our  trail,  at  least  on  mine,  and  swift  retribution 
fell  upon  me,  who  suffered  for  the  rest.  I  had  got 
halfway  up  with  a  bag,  when  it  suddenly  slewed 
round  on  my  back.  I  lost  my  balance,  and  over  I 
went,  souse  into  the  sea,  bread  and  all !  It  was  lucky 
the  barge  was  moored  well  abaft  the  plank,  or  I 
might  have  been  killed.  The  captain,  happening 


SHIP  ON  FIRE!  197 

to  be  on  deck,  looked  over  the  side,  laughed, 
and  said  : 

"  You  had  better  get  on  deck,  boy,  and  dry 
your  rations." 

I  swam  to  the  plank,  and  came  dripping  up 
the  side.  The  soaked  bread  was  hauled  on  board 
by  a  tackle,  and  I  spread  it  all  out  on  the  quarter- 
deck to  dry.  I  saw  starvation  staring  me  in  the 
face,  for  I  knew  the  captain  was  a  man  of  his 
word,  but  I  was  determined  I  would  not  eat  the 
vile  stuff. 

Next  day  the  captain  called  the  boys  into  the 
cabin.  We  wondered  what  was  going  to  happen. 
But  all  turned  out  as  on  the  occasion  of  the 
fatherly  lecture  he  gave  us  on  leaving  the  Islands. 
Now,  as  then,  he  was  all  affability.  He  opened 
the  well-remembered  beer,  and  gave  us  the 
lunch  of  doughboys  and  cheese  as  before.  Then 
he  suggested  that  no  doubt  we  would  like  to  see 
Lima  before  we  left,  so  he  would  give  us  leave 
and  put  us  on  our  honour  not  to  bolt  if  we  got 
ashore. 

"Give  me  your  words  that  you  will  be  at  the 
mole  by  eight  in  the  evening,  and  you  may  go 
as  early  as  you  like  to-morrow,"  he  said. 

Of  course,  we  faithfully  promised,  and  we  all 
meant  to  keep  the  promise.  I,  for  my  part,  should 


198  THE  SHELLBACK. 

not  have  thought  of  running  again.  I  now  felt 
pretty  sure  I  should  get  over  the  voyage  home 
without  being  flogged,  and  as  we  were  to  sail  at 
once,  nothing  would  be  gained  by  trying  for 
another  ship. 

He  then  gave  us  each  ten  dollars  to  spend, 
and  we  retired  to  spend  the  rest  of  the  day  in 
gleeful  anticipations  of  the  jolly  time  in  store 
for  us. 

It  happened  to  be  my  first  anchor  watch  that 
night,  and  I  was  walking  up  and  down,  smoking, 
and  thinking  what  I  would  do  with  my  money, 
when  my  attention  was  drawn  to  a  bright  light 
on  a  vessel  a  little  over  a  mile  from  us  seawards. 
I  knew  that  a  Yankee  vessel,  the  Lucy  L.  Hole, 
was  anchored  somewhere  thereabouts.  She  had  a 
bad  reputation  from  a  seaman's  point  of  view.  It 
was  well  known  that  belaying-pins,  handspikes,  and 
heavers  were  put  to  other  uses  than  those  they 
were  intended  for,  by  the  mates. 

I  watched  the  light,  because  it  seemed  too 
bright  for  an  ordinary  riding  light.  By-and-by  I 
saw  it  flicker,  then  flare  up,  and  sparks  fall  into 
the  sea.  I  jumped  down  the  companion,  and 
roused  out  the  captain,  who  was  lying  down 
asleep. 

"What's  the  matter,  boy?"  he  asked. 


SHIP  ON  FIRE!  199 

"I  think  the  Lucy  L.  Hale  is  on  fire,  sir!"  I 
said. 

"The  devil  she  is!"  she  ejaculated.  "Up  on 
deck  with  you,  and  call  all  hands ! " 

I  rushed  up,  woke  up  the  mates,  carpenter, 
and  boatswain,  and  in  a  couple  of  minutes  the 
whole  ship  was  alive. 

"Lower  away  the  port  and  starboard  quarter 
boats ! "  shouted  the  captain,  who  had  gained  the 
deck.  "Boatswain!  get  away  in  the  stern  boat. 
In  with  you,  boys,  before  the  boat's  lowered.  Two 
extra  hands  in  the  port  quarter  boat!  Overhaul 
your  tackles  !  Cast  off !  Be  smart,  men ! " 

In  a  minute  more  the  boats  touched  the  water 
simultaneously.  We  unhooked  the  tackles,  hauled 
our  boat  to  the  gangway,  the  captain  jumped  in 
and  shouted  to  us  to  give  way.  As  we  passed 
one  of  the  warships  he  hailed  her : 

"  Wyoming,  ahoy !  Do  you  see  that  ship  on 
fire?" 

"  Ay,  ay,"  w;as  the  response,  but  immediately  we 
heard  the  boatswain's  pipes  sounding  all  over  the 
ship. 

"  Give  way,  you  young  dogs,  give  way !  Lay 
your  backs  into  it.  Don't  let  Uncle  Sam's  men 
overhaul  you ! "  shouted  our  excited  skipper. 

pulled  like  mad,  two   men   double-banking 


200  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  oars.  The  ship  was  now  beginning  to  pour 
out  volumes  of  smoke,  and  tongues  of  lurid 
flame  issued  from  the  fore-hatch  and  the  fore- 
castle. 

We  were  still  a  hundred  yards  from  her  when 
we  saw  a  boat,  with  two  men  in  her,  leaving  the 
burning  vessel. 

"  After  them,  lads  ! "  yelled  the  captain.  "  Pull 
like  hell !  Ill  have  those  two  scoundrels ! 

Give  way !  D you  !  Lay  your  backs  into 

it!" 

We  did  our  utmost.  The  long  ash  sticks 
bent  to  the  strain,  and  the  boat  flew  through  the 
water. 

Hand  over  hand  we  came  up  with  the  chase, 
which  tried  to  avoid  us  by  dodging  under  the 
shadow  of  the  ships,  but  we  fairly  ran  her  down. 
The  captain  steered  us  right  alongside.  Two 
revolver  shots  rang  out,  but  no  one  was  hurt,  and 
at  the  moment  of  collision  Captain  Barton  seized 
the  man  in  the  stern  sheets  by  the  collar  and 
dragged  him  into  our  boat.  He  struggled  and 
fought,  but  our  skipper  was  a  big,  powerful  man, 
and  he  seized  the  fellow  by  the  throat  and  throttled 
him  into  submission.  The  other  man  jumped 
overboard,  but  we  soon  had  him  also  in  our 
boat 


"TWO    REVOLVER    SHOTS    RANG    OUT." 


SHIP  ON  FIRE  !  201 

"Just  you  sons  of move  one  inch,"  said 

our  captain,  producing  a  revolver,  "and  I'll  drop 
you.  This  is  the  worst  night's  work  you  have 
done  for  some  time." 

At  this  moment  one  of  the  man-of-war  boats 
dashed  up.  We  hailed  her,  and  handed  over  our 
prisoners. 

The  spot  was  now  alive  with  boats  from  the 
shipping.  The  various  warships  had  sent  strong 
crews  armed  with  buckets.  In  a  moment  they 
were  on  board  the  now  furiously  burning  ship. 
They  seemed  to  be  like  salamanders,  and  not  to 
feel  the  fire  which  was  licking  up  the  rigging,  up 
which  the  plucky  fellows  had  run.  French,  English, 
and  American  seamen  were  all  working  together 
like  brothers.  They  poured  buckets  of  water  from 
aloft  on  the  burning  shrouds  and  yards,  and  those 
below  flooded  the  lower  decks  and  forecastle  with 
water.  All  of  a  sudden  I  saw  the  mainmast 
quiver  and  sway. 

"Lay  down  from  aloft  for  your  lives,  men!" 
roared  a  hundred  voices.  "  The  mainmast's 
going!" 

Down  slid  and  dropped  the  men,  and  only 
just  in  time.  Directly  they  reached  the  deck 
the  mast  fell  with  a  crash  over  the  side,  dragging 
the  fore  topmast  and  the  fore  topgallant  mast  with 


202  THE  SHELLBACK. 

it.  A  minute  later,  and  the  warning  cry  would 
have  been  useless.  Nearly  a  hundred  gallant  men 
would  have  fallen  with  the  wreck  of  the  masts. 
The  fire-fighters  now  devoted  all  their  attention  to 
the  hull,  and  in  about  two  hours,  more  the  fire 
was  got  well  under. 

It  was  then  found  that  the  two  men  we  had 
captured  had  remained  on  board  to  slip  the  anchor 
and  let  the  vessel  drift  out  to  sea.  But  the  business 
had  been  gone  about  in  a  most  bungling  manner. 
No  preparation  had  been  made  to  unshackle  the 
anchor  chain,  and  the  two  scoundrels  must  have 
lost  their  heads  when  they  heard  the  men-of-war 
piping  all  hands,  for  they  got  the  cook's  axe  and 
had  been  trying  to  cut  the  chain  with  it.  Then 
they  had  only  fired  the  fore  part  of  the  ship,  in- 
stead of  making  sure  of  their  nefarious  work  by 
setting  her  on  fire  both  fore  and  aft  and  amid- 
ships. As  it  was,  the  hull  was  saved,  and  there 
would  bo  a  good  deal  of  salvage  cargo. 

The  prisoners  turned  out  to  be  the  master  and 
carpenter  of  the  ship.  What  became  of  them  I 
never  heard,  but  probably  they  got  off  with  a  light 
sentence,  or  perhaps  none  at  all,  in  that  justice- 
conupting  part  of  the  world. 

A  few  of  the  mm  <>l  wars-men  were  left  on 
board  the  hulk,  to  watch  that  the  fire  did  not 


SHIP  ON  FIRE  !  203 

break  out  again,   and  then    the  boats  returned  to 
their  respective  ships. 

Our  captain  was  no  niggard  in  dispensing  creature 
comforts.  He  gave  a  tot  of  grog  to  all  hands,  and 
then  we  were  sent  below,  Wilkinson  keeping  the 
anchor  watch  aft. 


204 


CHAPTER     XIII. 

"  SHANGHAIED  ! " 

WE  turned  out  very  early  next  morning  and  set  to 
work  to  beautify  ourselves  previous  to  going  ashore. 
We  had  no  need  to  shave,  because  not  one  of  us 
could  raise  even  a  down  on  his  lip ;  but  the  boat- 
swain declared  we  could  not  go  ashore  without  being 
shaved,  so  he  made  us  sit  down  in  a  row,  and  he 
and  three  men  set  to  work  to  lather  our  smooth 
cheeks  and  shave  us.  The  second  mate  came  along 
as  this  absurd  performance  was  going  on,  and  he 
roared  with  laughter  to  see  four  beardless  boys 
solemnly  undergoing  the  operation  of  shaving.  The 
boatswain  declared  he  found  a  hair  in  the  lather, 
but,  if  he  did,  it  must  have  been  a  remnant  of  his 
own.  For  my  part,  I  had  no  sign  of  moustache  or 
beard  until  five  years  later.  We  then  got  a  good 
tubbing,  oiled  up  our  long  hair  (in  those  days 
people  wore  their  hair  long  and  used  pomatum  or 
hair  oil),  put  on  our  smartest  worked-front  shirts, 
our  best  jackets,  with  four  close  rows  of  buttons, 
our  best  trousers  and  hats,  and  stood  ready  for  a 
glorious  day's  outing.  The  captain  had  given  us 


"  SHANGHAIED  I "  205 

our  ten  dollars  the  evening  before  in  the  cabin. 
We  would  not  wait  for  breakfast,  only  taking  a 
mug  of  scalding  hot  bean- coffee  and  molasses.  The 
proper  meal  we  proposed  to  take  in  Peruvian  fashion 
ashore.  We  had  plenty  of  money,  and,  sailor-like, 
meant  to  spend  it  all  before  we  got  on  board  again. 

Going  on  deck,  we  "  ordered  "  a  couple  of  ordinary 
seamen  to  get  the  boat  to  the  gangway.  We  were 
off  duty  to-day — gentlemen  at  large — and  not  a 
boat-fall,  painter,  or  oar  would  we  touch.  The 
boat  was  duly  hauled  to  the  gangway,  and  we 
marched  down  into  her.  I  took  the  tiller,  the 
others  sat  next  to  me  in  the  stern  sheets.  Barney 
gave  the  command  to  shove  off,  adding  "and  be 

d d  to  you."  At  intervals  one  of  us  would  act 

the  skipper  and  swear  at  the  men,  telling  them  to 
lay  their  lazy  backs  into  it,  and  threatening  them 
with  all  sorts  of  horrors  when  we  got  back  on 
board.  With  the  usual  amount  of  yelling  and 
swearing  and  crashing  into  other  boats'  sides,  we 
succeeded  in  getting  to  the  steps  at  the  mole. 

We  took  our  "crew"  up  to  the  store  and  gave 
them  a  couple  of  good  stiff  tots,  told  them  to  be 
at  the  mole  at  eight  p.m.,  and  saw  them  shove  off. 
Just  as  we  were  about  to  leave  the  mole  two  inci- 
dents happened.  A  Peruvian  man-of-war's  boat, 
pulling  sixteen  oars — the  cutter,  I  suppose  they 


206  *  THE  SHELLBACK. 

called  her — came  dashing  into  the  mole.  If  any- 
one sang  out  "in  bow"  or  "way  enough,"  at  all 
events  neither  order  was  obeyed.  On  came  the  big 
boat  with  a  rush,  and  crashed  bows  on  into  the  side 
of  some  ship's  boat.  She  cut  clean  into  her,  and  the 
latter  filled  at  once.  Such  a  hullabaloo  as  there 
arose  I  have  rarely  heard.  There  were  six  or  eight 
officers  in  the  Peruvian  boat,  and  they  and  the 
sixteen  men  all  screamed  together.  They  jumped 
on  the  thwarts,  yelled  and  gesticulated  like  a  lot  of 
monkeys,  and  the  boat's  crew  seemed  to  have  just 
as  much  to  say  in  the  matter  as  the  officers.  The 
shore  boatmen  joined  in  the  row.  I  expected  to 
see  knives  and  swords  drawn,  but  it  was  all  a  battle 
of  words.  I  thought  of  what  would  probably  happen 
on  board  the  warship  this  boat  came  from  in  a 
regular  sea  fight,  if  she  collided  with  another  one. 
No  wonder  that  some  years  afterwards  the  Chilians 
had  very  little  difficulty  in  thrashing  such  a  yelling, 
chattering,  undisciplined  crowd.  The  amusing  part 
was  that  the  Peruvian  "  swells  "  on  the  mole  smoked 
calmly  on  and  paid  no  attention  to  the  turmoil. 
Before  we  left  a  couple  of  boats  ran  in  and  landed 
a  dozen  of  the  most  miserable  objects  I  have  ever 
seen.  They  were  Chinamen  or  Lascars  in  every 
stage  of  scurvy.  They  crawled  on  hands  and  knees 
up  the  steps,  looking,  some  of  them,  as  if  they 


"  SHANGHAIED  t "  207 

would  drop  dead  on  the  mole.  I  suppose  they  had 
formed  part  of  the  crew  of  a  whaler  which  had 
been  on  salt  provisions  for  a  long  time.  These 
whalers,  especially  sailing  out  of  New  Bedford,  some- 
times keep  to  sea  for  two  or  three  years  at  a 
stretch,  occasionally  making  some  South  American 
port  for  water  and  fresh  provisions,  and  it  was  no 
uncommon  thing  to  hear  of  scurvy  having  broken 
out  amongst  their  crews.  Although  the  disease  is 
so  terrible  when  it  attacks  a  crew,  there  is  no  disease 
which  can  so  easily  be  cured  if  appliances  are  at 
hand.  When  the  diet  is  changed  from  salt  meat 
to  fresh,  and  the  patients  are  plentifully  supplied 
with  vegetables,  fruit,  and  lime  or  lemon  juice, 
they  recover  as  if  by  magic.  I  have  never  been 
shipmates  with  the  scurvy,  but  other  men  have 
told  me  their  experiences  and  the  marvellous 
effect  of  the  above  diet  on  the  disease.  Having 
had  enough  of  the  mole  and  its  ceaseless  noise, 
we  went  into  the  town  to  get  breakfast.  This  was 
soon  procured,  and  consisted  of  fried  fish,  eggs, 
omelettes,  onions,  garlic,  fruit,  and  wine.  The  inner 
man  having  been  thus  fortified,  we  sallied  forth 
to  "do"  Callao.  There  was  not  much  to  be  seen, 
and  an  hour  of  the  dirty  port  sufficed  us,  when 
we  set  off  to  explore  the  suburbs.  We  came  across 
some  very  pretty  villas  about  half  a  mile  beyond 


2o8  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  town,  which  struck  us  as  being  very  sensibly 
built  for  a  hot  climate. 

First,  there  were  four  stone  or  adobe  (sun-dried 
brick)  walls,  not  white  but  yellow- washed.  A  large 
gate  on  one  side  gave  admission  to  a  lovely  garden 
within  the  inclosure.  We  peered  through  a  grating, 
longing  to  go  inside,  and  wondering  how  we  could 
gain  admittance.  Sharpe  suggested  getting  over  the 
wall.  Barney  thought  an  alarm  of  fire  would  bring 
out  the  dwellers  in  this  elysium  ;  but  we  were  saved 
all  trouble  by  the  appearance  of  a  disgracefully  ugly 
old  Indian  woman,  who,  on  catching  sight  of  us,  lifted 
up  her  voice  and  screamed  shrilly  at  us  in  some  out- 
landish dialect,  which  did  not  strike  us  as  being 
Spanish,  English,  or  Aztec. 

Of  course,  we  could  not  understand  a  word,  but 
Barney,  who  was  always  equal  to  the  occasion,  said : 

"  Whisht  now,  all  of  yez !  Sure,  I'll  discoorse  the 
illigant  crayther,  and  incense  her  with  what  we 
want." 

He  took  off  his  cap,  made  the  old  hag  a  low, 
sweeping  bow,  and  began : 

"  I  say,  seiiora "  I  fancied  the  old  girl  looked 

pleased  at  the  title  of  seiiora,  for  she  stopped  scream- 
ing and  listened. 

Barney  went  on :  "  Seiiora  nobilissiina  !  Jardino 
— you  know — intra  muros.  (Begobs,  boys,  that's 


"  SHANGHAIED  I "  209 

Latin,  and  it'll  fetch  her ;  she'll  take  me  for  Father 
Hooloohan  that's  parish  priest  in  Wicklow.)  Mon- 
gooso — paysano — tumba — carajo  !  Mucho  bueno 
Ave  Maria!  Catholico!  (That's  better,  boys,  shell 
know  we  are  Christians,  anyhow.)  More  better  as 
good,  eh,  old  lady !  Senora,  come  on,  lettez  vous  us 
into  your  jardino." 

The  woman  looked  puzzled.  She  evidently  under- 
stood the  "  Ave  Maria "  and  "  Catholico,"  but  the 
"carajo"  which  followed — what  about  that  wicked 
swear  word  ?  She  crossed  herself  very  devoutly.  So 
did  we,  but  we  were  certainly  as  far  as  ever  from 
coming  to  an  understanding,  and  time  was  passing. 
If  we  were  to  get  inside,  we  must  adopt  some  other 
means  of  conciliating  the  old  Indian  harridan. 

"  Barney,"  said  I,  "  youll  have  to  tackle  her  again, 
but  don't  put  any  more  carajos  into  it;  she  does  not 
seem  to  like  it.  Look !  hang  me  if  she  hasn't  crossed 
herself  again  !  Drop  the  swear  word,  Barney." 

"  Faith ! "  he  replied,  "  I  don't  know  any  more,  so 
I  don't.  My  Continental  education  was  neglected 
by  rayson  that  I  was  so  long  in  1'arnin'  to  spake 
at  alL" 

Whilst  we  were   debating  we  heard   a  peal  of 
laughter  on   the  piazza    inside,  and    at    the    same 
moment  a  very  pretty  young  lady,  smoking  a  cigar- 
ette, came  out  and  said  : 
o 


2io  THE  SHELLBACK. 

"  Ole  Pepina  no  make  understand.  Who  you 
little  boys  ? " 

Although  we  did  not  altogether  relish  being 
called  little  boys,  seeing  that  the  youngest  of  us  was 
nearly  thirteen,  we  bowed  very  politely,  and  unblush- 
ingly  stated  that  we  belonged  to  a  large  warship  in 
port  and  were  anxious  to  see  a  little  of  the  country 
before  we  left. 

"  Oh,  you  sail  see,  little  sailor  boys.  Gome  in," 
she  said  pleasantly. 

Then  she  ordered  Pepina  to  open  the  gate,  and 
we  entered. 

First  she  pointed  to  a  little  table,  on  which  were 
some  fruit  and  some  iced  wine  in  a  tiny  decanter. 
The  wine  being  just  enough  for  one,  I  speedily  made 
away  with  it. 

Seeing  this,  she  laughed,  and  sent  Pepina  to  get  a 
good  supply.  Now  conversation  began,  and  we  under- 
stood her  to  say  that  the  whole  place  belonged  to  us, 
and  everything  in  it,  and  everybody  there  was  our 
slave. 

"  Faith  1 "  said  Sharpe,  "  I  vote  we  take  possession, 
shut  the  gates,  get  two  big  cannon,  and  shoot  the 
skipper  if  he  comes  for  us  " 

"  That  being  the  case "  said  Barney,  "  I'd  be  for 
takin'  possession  of  your  purty  self,  Miss  Donna 
Seiiorita." 


"  SHANGHAIED  / "  211 

She  laughed  again,  but  did  not  understand 
Barney's  semi-Irish  vernacular. 

But  I  had  read  somewhere  that  this  wonderful 
generosity  was  nothing  but  polite  Spanish  formality, 
and  I  thought,  if  we  attempted  to  enter  upon  our 
suddenly  acquired  inheritance,  relying  on  such  an 
invitation,  we  should  speedily  find  ourselves  hustled 
out  of  the  gates  again  by  the  peons  standing  and 
lying  about  the  garden.  So  we  elected  to  be 
satisfied  with  an  inspection  of  our  doubtful 
property. 

There  was  not  much  to  see.  A  low,  one-storeyed 
building,  built  of  the  same  material  as  the  wall,  ran 
round  three  sides  of  the  square.  This  building  con- 
tained a  drawing-room,  dining-room,  and  a  few  cell- 
like  bedrooms,  all  very  bare  of  decent  furniture.  Mats 
were  on  the  floor,  and  mats  were  hung  at  the  veran- 
dah entrances.  In  one  or  two  of  the  bedrooms  there 
were  cuartos  instead  of  bedsteads  and  mattrasses. 
The  cuarto  is  nothing  but  a  bullock's  hide  stretched 
to  four  stout  posts,  with  no  mattrass  on  it.  It  is 
comfortable  enough,  but  has  a  great  tendency  to 
bulge  down,  hammock-like,  in  the  centre.  There 
were  a  few  grass  hammocks  hanging  under  the 
verandah  roof,  and  these  seemed  to  complete  the 
sleeping  arrangements.  A  deliciously  cool  fountain 
was  playing  in  the  centre,  fed  by  water  drawn  from 


212  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  Callao  river.  It  was  surrounded  by  plantains, 
ferns,  creepers,  and  ravishingly  scented  flowers. 

Having  satisfied  our  curiosity,  we  thanked  our 
pretty  hostess,  who  gave  us  each  a  couple  of  cigars 
and  a  quantity  of  fruit.  Of  course,  we  tipped  the  old 
janitress,  who  grinned  her  approval.  We  bowed 
ourselves  out,  and  the  great  gate  was  locked  again, 
We  had  gone  a  dozen  yards  on  our  return  when 
Barney  stopped: 

"  Begorra,  boys  ! "  he  exclaimed,  "  I  must  go  back ; 
I  forgot  something." 

We  asked  him  what  he  had  forgotten. 

"Why,  to  kiss  the  sefiorita's  purty  lips,  to  be 
sure !  Didn't  I  see  she  was  longing  for  a  kiss,  only 
she  didn't  like  to  ax  me  for  it  with  you  three  ugly 
ruffians  looking  on  ? " 

We  all  laughed  and  went  on  our  way.  This  was 
all  we  saw  at  Callao,  except  the  forts  and  docking 
appliances.  On  our  return  to  the  town  we  heard  that 
a  terrible  accident  had  happened  to  a  Peruvian  frigate, 
which  was  being  repaired  on  a  floating  dock.  We 
were  told  that  she  capsized  whilst  scores  of  work- 
men and  visitors  were  on  board  and  underneath  her, 
that  numbers  had  been  crushed  to  death  or  maimed 
for  life,  and  that  a  procession  of  corpses  had  left 
the  mole  not  long  before. 

We  now  made   our  way  to  the  railway  station, 


"  SHANGHAIED  / "  213 

a  structure  which  I  indistinctly  remember  as  being 
principally  constructed  of  saplings  painted  yellow, 
It  was  our  intention  to  take  a  run  up  to  the 
capital,  as  we  might  never  again  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  this  fine  city.  It  was  not  a  long 
journey,  Lima  being  only  some  ten  miles  from  the 
coast.  But  travelling  by  rail  in  Peru  is  a  slow 
business,  although  it  is  now  rendered  attractive  by 
the  fact  that  lofty  heights  can  be  reached  in  comfort 
by  the  Oroya  Kailway,  which  attains  an  elevation 
of  15,645  feet.  The  climate  and  general  aspect 
of  Peru  are  calculated  to  leave  a  lasting  im- 
pression on  the  traveller,  as  almost  every  variety  of 
scenery  can  be  viewed,  from  the  surf-bound  shores 
of  the  Pacific  to  the  lofty  heights  of  the  Andes. 
As  we  left  the  coast  the  view  was  very  fine.  In 
the  background  rises  the  great  Cordillera  of  the 
Andes,  with  its  innumerable  peaks,  regions  of 
perpetual  snow,  avalanches,  and  volcanic  eruptions. 
West  of  the  great  range  lies  a  vast  fertile  plain, 
bounded  towards  the  coast  by  a  series  of  number- 
less conical  hills,  dry  and  barren,  whilst  thence  to 
the  sea  one  passes  through  fertile  country,  groves 
of  orange  trees,  pretty  gardens,  and  well-cultivated 
fields.  Away,  behind  us,  the  lighthouse  on  Cape  San 
Lorenzo  was  visible.  The  boundless  Pacific  and  the 
port,  with  its  myriads  of  vessels,  complete  the  picture. 


214  THE  SHELLBACK. 

In  about  an  hour  we  had  reached  our  destina- 
tion and  set  foot  in  Lima,  the  capital  city  of 
Peru,  founded  by  Pizarro  in  1535,  after  his  cruel 
subjugation  of  the  Incas. 

We  first  visited  the  cathedral,  a  magnificent 
pile,  recalling  the  splendour  of  the  cathedrals  of 
Continental  Europe,  many  of  which  I  had  seen. 
The  city  itself  presents  an  imposing  appearance, 
owing  to  the  existence  of  magnificent  squares 
and  magnificent  public  buildings  fronting  the 
Grand  Square — an  open  space  containing  about 
fifteen  acres.  In  the  middle  of  this  square  is  a 
splendid  fountain,  on  the  top  of  which  stands  a 
large  bronze  statue  of  Fame  with  her  brazen 
trumpet.  Eight  lions  are  couched  round  the  statue, 
and  from  their  open  mouths,  as  well  as  from  the 
trumpet,  the  clearest  water  issues.  We  drank 
some,  and  found  it  deliciously  cold. 

This  water,  I  believe,  comes  from  the  River 
Limac,  which  divides  Lima  into  two  parts,  one 
called  the  suburb  of  San  Lazaro.  Over  the  river 
is  a  fine  stone  bridge  with  a  most  elegantly 
carved  gate,  which  forms  the  entrance  to  the  city 
and  leads  to  the  Grand  Square. 

It  is  a  pity  that  some  of  the  towns  of  Australia 
do  not  take  a  leaf  out  of  Lima's  book.  I  have 
been  in  every  seaport  and  capital  of  Australasia, 


"  SHANGHAIED  !  "  215 

but  nowhere  have  I  seen  water  utilised  as  it  is 
here.  The  Dutch  in  Batavia  are  the  only  people 
in  the  Eastern  Pacific  countries  who  seem  to 
utilise  the  superabundant  water  of  their  country. 

In  Lima  the  streets  are  all  provided  with  canals 
arched  over,  and  these  canals  communicate  with 
the  houses  by  branches.  Most  of  the  houses  have 
gardens,  as  I  have  already  described,  and  the 
water  serves  to  keep  them  constantly  fresh  and 
green. 

The  churches,  as  in  most  South  American  cities, 
are  very  large  and  numerous,  adorned  with  very 
fine  statues  and  pictures;  some  of  the  latter  are 
said  to  be  of  very  great  value,  but  of  that  I  was 
at  the  time  no  judge.  Lima  appeared  to  us  to 
be  a  very  holy  city,  there  were  so  many  churches, 
chapels,  nunneries,  and  other  religious  institutions; 
whilst  every  third  passer-by  appeared  to  be  a  priest, 
monk,  or  sister  of  some  religious  order.  As  any  of 
these  passed  the  country  people,  the  latter  usually 
dropped  on  one  knee.  I  was  told,  however,  that 
whatever  the  external  appearances  of  religion  might 
be,  the  outside  of  the  platter  was  the  only  clean 
part  of  the  show — it  was  no  index  of  the  inside — 
immorality  and  depravity  being  rampant  amongst 
all  classes,  religious  as  well  as  lay. 

Certainly,   there    must   be    a  great   deal  of  the 


216  THE  SHELLBACK. 

devil's  work  going   on  when    it  requires    such    an 
army  of  priests  to  keep  him  at  bay. 

The  people,  who  consist  of  Spaniards,  negroes, 
Indians,  mestizoes,  and  other  half-breeds  proceeding 
from  these,  are,  as  a  rule  (especially  the  females), 
good-looking  whilst  young,  with  wonderful  eyes, 
and  they  are  very  graceful  in  their  motions.  They 
are  as  gay  and  delightful  as  they  are  good-look- 
ing, and  are  passionately  fond  of  dress.  Even  the 
commonest  women  wear  bright-coloured  dresses,  and 
silver  and  gold  bracelets,  beads,  and  necklaces. 

We  found  the  weather  cool  rather  than  hot 
during  our  sight-seeing,  but  we  felt  a  nervous 
dread  of  earthquakes.  .We  were  told  that  in  the 
year  1746  the  whole  city  was  destroyed  in  three 
minutes,  and  there  had  been  fifteen  earthquakes 
in  Lima  since  1500.  A  destructive  earthquake 
every  twenty-four  years  should  provide  plenty  of 
work  for  builders,  carpenters,  and  other  trades- 
men ;  but  I  found  that,  owing  to  these  earthquakes 
the  private  houses  are  seldom  built  of  stone,  but 
usually  of  plastered  wood  painted  to  look  like 
stone.  Hence  the  magnificence  of  the  city  is 
greatly  detracted  from  by  the  small  altitude  of  the 
houses. 

Having  done  a  fatiguing  day  of  sight-seeing,  we 
returned  to  the  railway  station  about  six  o'clock 


"  SHANGHAIED  !  "  217 

p.m.,  and  were  just  in  time  to  catch  a  train. 
Getting  on  board,  we  made  much  better  travelling 
going  down  to  Callao  than  in  going  up  to  Lima, 
and  in  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  we  were 
getting  something  to  eat  and  drink  before  going  on 
board. 

It  was  a  glorious  evening.  Hundreds  of  people 
were  out  enjoying  the  cool  breeze.  As  we  sat  on 
the  steps  of  the  mole  after  our  tea,  an  affable- 
looking  naval  officer  came  up  and  began  a  con- 
versation with  us.  We  told  him  who  we  were, 
and  how  we  had  spent  the  day,  and  he  said  he 
was  waiting  for  his  boat,  but  if  we  would  put  him 
on  board  his  ship,  the  Wyoming,  he  would  go  in 
our  boat.  Of  course,  we  were  very  pleased  to 
meet  so  affable  a  lieutenant,  who  condescended  to 
talk  with  boys  of  a  merchant  ship.  So  we  said  we 
would  be  very  glad  to  put  him  on  board,  telling 
him  that  our  boat  would  be  at  the  steps  at  eight 
o'clock. 

"Oh!"  he  exclaimed.  "In  that  case,  then,  you 
have  nearly  an  hour  to  spare.  I  suppose  you 
youngsters  have  no  objection  to  a  glass  of  wine  at  my 
expense  ?  You  won't  see  much  wine,  you  know,  once 
you  leave  port  till  you  get  to  the  old  country/' 

We  concluded  that  as  we  had  been  very 
abstemious  in  the  matter  of  everything  but  fruit, 


218  THE  SHELLBACK. 

we  deserved  something,  so  we  agreed,  and  he  led 
the  way  from  the  mole. 

"Now,"  said  our  friend,  "I'm  going  to  show 
you  how  to  get  a  glass  of  really  good  stuff— not  the 
trash  sailors  get  at  the  drink  stores.  I  suppose 
you've  been  in  there?"  pointing  to  a  well-lighted, 
respectable-looking  saloon. 

We  said,  "Yes,  we  had  been  there  in  the 
morning." 

"I  thought  so,"  he  said.  "You  deserve  to  have 
been  poisoned.  Now  I  happen  to  be  a  friend  of 
the  agent  of  your  ship.  He  is  a  first-class  fellow, 
and  keeps  the  best  of  liquors  and  cigars,  but  not 
in  the  general  shop.  We  don't  go  there  when  I'm 
with  him,  but  he  has  a  little  snuggery  only  known 
to  his  friends.  That's  where  we  are  going,  and  we 
shall  probably  find  him  there." 

We  turned  down  a  by-street  or  two,  and  by- 
and-by  arrived  at  a  kind  of  store  with  barred 
windows.  He  tapped  at  the  door  and  called  out: 

"It  is  only  I,  Harry,  Lieutenant  Long.  Let 
me  in.  There's  not  much  time  to  lose." 

The  door  opened,  and  we  went  into  a  kind  of 
ship  chandler's  store,  very  badly  lighted. 

"  Ah,  Harry!  Business  over  for  to-day,  I  suppose  ? " 

"  Yes,  leftenant.  Guess  we  aint  naygurs,  to  work 
night  and  day.  The  boss  has  just  gone," 


"SHANGHAIED!"  219 

"Well,  that's  a  pity,  for  I've  brought  four  of 
the  Altamont's  youngsters  to  give  them  a  decent 
drink,  which  they  can't  get  elsewhere  in  this 
beastly  hole  of  a  Callao,"  he  said. 

"Waal,  leftenant,  I  don't  'zackly  know.  The 
boss  is  pertickler,  and  I  wouldn't  give  shucks  for 
my  berth  here  ef  he  heern  tell  as  I  let  strangers 
in  here." 

"Oh!  that  will  be  all  right,"  said  the  officer. 
"You  let  us  into  the  back  room  and  bring  us 
a  bottle  of  the  right  sort,  and  then  we  must  be 
off." 

"  I  hardly  dussent  do  it,  leftenant,  but  if  you'll 
make  it  right  with  the  boss,"  said  the  rnan  called 
Harry,  "  I'll  risk  it.  So  go  in  quick,  and  I'll  bring 
a  bottle." 

Our  conductor  then  opened  a  door  at  the  back 
of  the  store,  and  we  parsed  into  a  sort  of  cellar 
full  of  barrels  of  pitch  and  tar,  and  coils  of  rope. 
Then  he  opened  a  second  door,  and  we  entered  a 
room  fitted  up  as  a  ship's  forecastle  with  bunks 
all  round.  A  man  was  lying  on  one  of  the  bunks. 
Our  guide  asked  us  to  sit  down,  and  taking  a 
bottle  from  one  of  the  shelves  said : 

"  Oh!  here  we  are,  all  ready  to  our  hand,  but  we 
must  wait  for  glasses." 

Just   then    Harry    came   in   with    a   bottle    and 


220  THE  SHELLBACK. 

some  glasses.  Seeing  the  lieutenant  with  the  other 
bottle  on  the  table,  he  whispered  something  to  him, 

"Oh!"  said  the  officer  in  response.  "That's  the 
wretched  stuff  you  got  yesterday  ?  Mustn't  poison 
our  young  friends,  eh,  boys?  Try  this,"  and  he 
handed  us  the  fresh  bottle.  Each  of  us  helped 
himself  to  a  drink.  Then  our  guide  looked  at  his 
watch  and  said :  "  Harry,  could  you  get  us  a  bit 
of  supper  quick  ?  Well  have  to  be  off  in  half  an 
hour  at  the  latest.  Meanwhile  we'll  have  another 
appetiser."  It  seemed  very  singular  to  me  that  one 
glass  of  Pisco  should  have  the  effect  of  making  me 
heady.  In  fact,  we  all  four  got  boisterous,  I 
especially,  as  I  was  not  used  to  much  liquor.  Our 
friend  then  said: 

"  We  can't  wait  any  longer  for  that  supper.  One 
more  drink  and  we'll  up  stick  and  away.  Your 
boat  will  be  at  the  mole  in  a  few  minutes,  and 
you  mustn't  be  late." 

But  we  stupidly  gazed  at  him,  and  shook  our 
heads.  There  was  no  doubt  that  we  were  hopelessly 
drunk,  and  could  not  account  for  it,  as  all  we  had 
taken  during  the  day  was  the  light  wine  at  breakfast 
and  these  two  glasses  of  Pisco.  Each  movement  now 
made  us  more  excited,  and  things  were  beginning 
to  look  very  serious  for  us,  when  the  aspect  of  affairs 
changed.  A  battering  at  the  outer  door  proclaimed 


"  SHANGHAIED  !  "  221 

the  arrival  of  someone  in  authority.  The  soi-disant 
lieutenant  dived  through  a  trap  in  the  floor,  which 
was  doubtless  put  there,  as  I  can  see  now,  to  enable 
him  and  his  villainous  crew  to  escape  from  the  police. 
In  another  moment  a  petty  officer  of  the  Peruvian 
Navy  entered  the  room  where  we  were.  Four  or  five 
sailors  followed  him.  By  this  time  we  were  (as  we 
were  afterwards  told)  in  a  frantic  state  of  delirium, 
but  the  men  managed  to  carry  us  out  and  convey  us 
to  the  mole,  where  we  were  put  into  our  own  boat,  in 
which  the  captain  was  already  seated,  awaiting  our 
arrival  I  have  an  indistinct  idea  of  what  followed, 
for  the  fresh  evening  air  had  somewhat  revived  me 
My  three  messmates  were  better  off  than  I  was,  for 
they  were  nearly  insensible.  I  can  remember 
standing  up  in  a  boat  as  we  passed  various  vessels^ 
waving  my  cap  and  yelling  derisive  abuse  at  them, 
and  of  being  feebly  abetted  by  the  other  boys.  I  even 
remember  telling  the  captain  he  was  drunk  and  ought 
to  be  flogged.  It  ended  in  our  being  held  down  in 
the  bottom  of  the  boat,  where  we  rolled  and  jabbered 
like  lunatics.  Arrived  at  the  ship,  we  were  dragged 
up  the  side,  the  captain  gave  us  some  strong  dose, 
and  we  were  put  to  bed,  where  we  soon  fell  into  a 
stupefied  sleep. 

Next  morning  I  awoke  with  a  tormenting  thirst 
and    a  racking   headache,    added    to  which  I  was 


222  THE  SHELLBACK. 

heartily  ashamed  of  having  been  made  drunk  for  the 
first  time  in  my  life.  I  felt  such  a  sense  of  humilia- 
tion and  shame  that  I  thought  all  the  men  would 
point  at  me  as  the  boy  who  got  drunk.  I  dreaded 
meeting  the  captain.  However,  he  sent  Sarah  to  us, 
and  she  gave  us  some  tea,  and  after  a  couple  of  hours 
we  got  up,  went  to  the  head,  and  sluiced  each  other 
with  buckets  of  water,  which  made  us  feel  nearly 
well.  Then  the  captain  sent  for  us  to  the  cabin. 

We  obeyed  orders  and  went  down  looking  and 
feeling  very  sheepish  and  miserable. 

"  Well ! "  he  began,  "  you  infernal  young  fools !  Do 
you  know  what  has  happened  to  you  ?  If  I  did  right 
I  should  seize  every  one  of  you  up  in  the  mizzen 
rigging,  and  give  you  four  dozen  apiece.  But  I 
reckon  you've  about  had  enough,  you  miserable- 
looking  sick  baboons.  You'll  know  after  this  what's 
meant  by  '  Shanghaiing/  Now  sit  down,  you  poor 
young  devils,  and  I'll  explain  it  to  you;  but  before 
I  let  you  out  of  my  sight  again,  I'll  send  for  your 
mothers  and  lash  you  fast  to  their  apron-strings." 

He  then  explained  to  us  that  the  pleasant-looking 
officer  who  had  taken  us  in  tow  was  nothing  but  a 
rascally  crimp,  who  looked  out  for  liberty-men  from 
ships  about  to  sail.  He  tackled  them  as  he  had  tackled 
us,  decoyed  them  to  the  den  we  had  been  taken  to, 
then  hocussed  their  liquor.  As  the  men  would  drink 


"  SHA NGHAIED  !''  223 

far  more  than  we  could  be  induced  to  take,  they 
were  speedily  made  unconscious,  and  were  kept  in 
this  place  till  the  ship  had  sailed.  A  day  or  two 
afterwards  they  were  allowed  partially  to  recover 
their  senses,  and  were  shipped  on  board  other  vessels 
requiring  crews.  The  crimp  received  the  sailors' 
advance  notes — that  is,  a  month's  advance  of  pay 
which  men  get  on  shipping  or  being  shipped.  As  the 
wages  out  of  Callao  were  then  £5  a  month,  the  fellow 
would  have  received  £20  for  us,  and  the  only  outlay 
on  his  part  was  the  grog,  which  was  poisoned  to  such 
an  extent  that  a  couple  of  glasses  were  sufficient  to 
put  men  into  such  a  state  of  drunkenness  that  they 
were  easily  dealt  with  for  a  few  days,  during  which 
time  the  crimp  was  careful  to  keep  up  the  supply 
of  hocussed  .liquor.  By  these  means  crimps  manage 
to  make  a  large  amount  of  money.  As  for  the  poor 
sailors,  they  were  taken  aboard  their  new  ship  just 
before  she  hove  up  anchor.  They  were  still  under  the 
influence  of  liquor,  and  only  came  to  their  senses 
to  find  themselves  at  sea,  without  a  chest,  which, 
of  course,  was  on  board  the  old  ship,  and  with  no 
clothes  but  what  they  stood  up  in.  Their  new 
captain,  of  course,  did  not  care.  He  wanted  men, 
and  the  crimps  supplied  them,  and  he  knew  that 
when  the  new  men  got  sober  they  would  turn  out 
to  be  as  good  men  as  the  average  of  sailors.  They 


224  THE  SHELLBACK. 

got  a  few  clothes  out  of  the  ship's  slop-chest,  and 
ended  by  settling  down  to  work  and  dismissing 
the  whole  affair  by  anathematising  the  crimp. 

After  this  explanation,  which  was  accompanied, 
as  the  reader  may  imagine,  by  a  running  fire  of 
interjectory  profanity,  the  captain  said  we  had  better 
cool  our  hot  coppers  and  keep  out  of  such  scrapes  in 
future. 

The  cooling  of  our  coppers  was  accomplished,  as 
on  previous  occasions,  by  a  couple  of  bottles  of  ale 
from  the  captain's  locker. 

As  we  were  to  sail  next  day,  there  seemed  little 
chance  of  our  running  the  risk  of  being  "Shang- 
haied "  a  second  time ;  so,  having  complied  with  our 
considerate  commander's  request  to  cool  our  coppers, 
we  made  our  bow  and  got  on  deck,  glad  to  be  let 
off  so  easily. 


225 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

HO  !  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN  ! 

ALL  this  time  we  had  been  without  a  chief  mate. 
The  duties  had  been  performed  by  the  second  mate, 
and  there  had  been  no  trouble.  But  to-day  there 
came  on  board  the  most  wicked-looking  specimen  of 
humanity  it  has  ever  been  my  misfortune  to  sail 
under.  I  may  as  well  describe  him. 

He  was  about  six  feet  two  in  height,  thin  as  a 
host,  with  a  yellowish  complexion,  bloodless  lips, 
thin  and  tightly  set  together,  black  whiskers,  and 
small,  glittering,  dangerous-looking  eyes,  which,  with 
their  overarching  brows,  reminded  one  somewhat  of 
a  venomous  snake.  He  did  not  walk  boldly,  but 
shuffled  along  silently,  and  was  close  to  you  when 
you  thought  he  was  at  the  other  end  of  the  ship.  He 
had  an  unmistakable  Yankee  drawl  which  was  natural 
to  him,  besides  which  he  possessed  the  largest  and 
most  unique  vocabulary  of  choice  blasphemy  and 
profanity  which  (until  I  heard  the  Australian 
shearer)  I  ever  imagined  it  possible  for  a  man  to 
possess.  I  verily  believe  the  man  must  have  spent 
his  watches  below  in  inventing  new  and  extraordinary 


226  THE  SHELLBACK. 

oaths.  His  invariable  address  to  the  men  forward 
was  an  invocation  of  the  infernal  regions  coupled  with 
the  name  of  the  Deity.  I  heard  him  once  coolly 
rebuked  by  a  gentleman  to  whom  he  had  addressed 
the  remark:  "Where  in  hell  have  I  seen  you  before ?" 
To  which  the  other  made  answer :  "  If  you  will  tell 
me  in  what  part  of  those  regions  you  have  usually 
resided,  I  may  be  able  to  answer  the  question." 

This  was  the  smart  man  Captain  Hawkins  had 
told  me  about.  He  was  shipped,  I  heard,  under  the 
same  conditions  as  our  late  Dutch- Yankee  mate,  Mr. 
Sheman.  He  was  to  receive  eighty  dollars  a  month 
if  he  suited  the  captain,  but  only  twenty  (seaman's 
wages)  if  otherwise.  If  this  man  brought  any  clothes 
aboard  with  him,  they  must  have  come  wrapped  up 
in  his  oilskin  suit,  for  we  saw  no  chest,  nor  even  a 
bag.  We  peeped  into  his  cabin  when  he  went  below 
to  dinner,  and  on  the  bunk  were  a  knuckleduster,  a 
couple  of  revolvers,  and  a  slung  shot.  I  believe  he 
guessed  our  curiosity  would  lead  us  to  look  in,  and 
so  left  them  there  on  purpose,  laid  out  as  a  warning. 

His  first  proceeding  after  going  to  his  berth  was 
to  muster  the  hands  aft  and  make  them  an  address. 
That  address  cannot  be  set  down  here.  Few  men 
have  minds  evil  enough  to  imagine  the  tissue  of 
blasphemy,  cruelty,  and  atrocious  sentiments  of  which 
it  was  made  up.  It  was  a  harangue  such  as  one 


Ho!  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN !  227 

would  expect  a  bloodthirsty  pirate  captain  to  make 
to  a  crew  of  abandoned  ruffians.  As  one  of  the  men 
afterwards  said:  "The  ship  was  going  to  be  a  hell 
afloat,  since  the  devil  himself  had  come  on  board." 

He  gave  them  to  understand  that  he  was  not  to 
be  trifled  with,  that  the  hands  would  have  to  toe  the 
mark  night  and  day,  or  he'd  mark  them  for  life — he 
would  "  haze  "  them  till  they  would  be  glad  to  jump 
overboard.  We  listened  to  this  worthy's  speech,  and 
thought  of  all  that  might  happen  between  this  and 
the  dropping  of  the  anchor  in  Cork  harbour.  How- 
ever, there  he  was,  and  we  were,  of  course,  powerless 
to  mend  matters.  We  were  in  the  tiger's  grip. 

Early  next  morning  the  sails  were  loosed,  and  it 
was  "  All  hands  up  anchor  !  " 

But  the  said  anchor  was  down  in  fifty  or  sixty 
fathoms,  and  our  "  all  hands  "  consisted  of  eight  men 
"  forrard  "  and  four  boys,  not  counting  the  cook,  boat- 
swain, carpenter,  and  steward.  The  rest  were  still  in 
prison.  The  windlass  was  manned,  and  we  hove 
short,  but  there  was  no  breaking  the  anchor  from 
the  ground. 

"  Up  with  her  bullies ! "  shouted  the  boatswain. 
"  Heave  and  raise  the  dead ! " 

But  the  dead  refused  to  be  raised.  All  the  mate's 
swears  and  players,  all  the  "  shanteys  " — "  Only  one 
more  day,  my  Johnny!  "  "Across  the  Western  Ocean  I " 


228  THE  SHELLBACK. 

"  John's  gone  hilo  ! "  "  Shenendoah ! "  etc.  etc. — were 
all  of  no  avail;  the  anchor  was  hove  short,  and 
remained  hove  short.  The  mate  then  reported  to 
the  captain  that  the  lazy  Dutch  swine  refused  to  get 
the  anchor.  The  captain  thereupon  applied  to  the 
U.S.  warship  Wyoming  for  assistance,  and  the 
request  was  at  once  complied  with.  About  forty 
smart  men  tumbled  on  board  and  manned  the  wind- 
lass. The  captain,  with  his  usual  liberality,  served 
out  the  grog.  Up  and  down  went  the  breaks ;  in 
came  the  chain  hand  over  hand.  The  mate  kicked 
and  swore  at  our  men,  who  were  making  saiL  Then 
the  main  yard  was  backed,  and  we  hove-to  under  top- 
sails, topgallant  sails,  fore  topmast  staysail  and  jib ; 
the  courses  not  being  set,  there  was  no  need  to  haul 
up  the  mainsail.  Grog  was  again  served  out.  There 
was  an  old  Scottish  skipper  on  board  who  had  had 
more  than  his  allowance  in  the  cabin.  He  protested 
against  the  captain's  liberality. 

"Hech,  mon!"  said  he,  "'tis  an  awfu'  waste  o' 
guid  liquor !  I  just  gi'e  ma  men  a  glass  o'  grog  on 
Hogmanay,  and  no  a  drappie  mair." 

"  Oh,  it  won't  hurt  those  fellows,"  said  the  captain, 
"  nor  the  owners  either.  I  work  the  marrow  out  of 
'em,  and  put  it  in  again  with  a  tot  I  get  full  value 
for  it,  you  bet ! " 

The  man-of-war's  men,  when  they  saw  how  the 


Ho!  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN!  229 

mate  carried  on,  declared  they  would  not  sail  in 
our  ship  for  a  thousand  dollars  a  month,  unless  they 
might  pitch  the  mate  overboard  before  sailing.  They 
said  all  sorts  of  insulting  things  about  him  in  his 
hearing;  but  he  appeared  to  notice  nothing.  He 
reckoned  to  take  his  revenge  out  of  the  helpless 
crew  when  they  were  in  blue  water. 

A  boat  now  came  alongside  bringing  our  refractory 
crew. 

As  soon  as  they  got  on  board  one  of  them 
came  aft  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to  get  some 
clothes  suitable  for  cold  weather,  as  they  had 
nothing  but  light  clothes.  The  mate  jumped  at 
him,  knocked  him  down,  pinned  him  by  the  throat, 
and  battered  his  head  against  the  deck. 

"You  white-livered  longshore  loafers!  You 

mutineering  scowbankers!  You  want  to  be 

kept  warm,  do  you  ?  By ,  111  make  it  so 

hot  for  you,  you  won't  want  any  clothes.  Yah! 
You  beast !  Git  forrard  to  your  kennel ! " 

It  was  lucky  for  the  mate  that  the  Wyoming's 
men  had  left  the  ship,  for  I  believe  they  would 
have  half  killed  the  savage.  So  these  poor  fellows 
were  to  start  on  a  voyage  round  Cape  Horn  with 
no  warm  clothes,  nor  any  little  comforts  for  the 
long  cold  night  watches,  when  the  howling  blasts 
from  the  Antarctic  Ocean  were  sweeping  acrow?  the 


230  THE  SHELLBACK. 

ship,  and  chilling  the  very  heart's  blood  of  the 
men  up  aloft. 

Our  men  being  on  board,  the  main  yard  was 
now  swung,  and  we  filled  away.  Sail  was  packed 
on  the  ship,  and  she  swept  proudly  away  from  her 
late  anchorage.  She  dipped  her  flag  to  the  men- 
of-war  as  she  passed.  The  salute  was  returned, 
but  the  men  on  the  forecastle  stood  up  and  gave 
three  hearty  cheers  for  the  men  and  three  heavy 
groans  for  the  mate.  But  the  noble  ship  swept 
on  past  the  San  Lorenzo  light,  out  into  the  blue 
Pacific — a  glorious  picture  externally,  a  mass  of 
misery,  rebellion,  and  evil  within. 

Still,  it  was  with  a  feeling  of  pleasure  that  we 
bustled  about,  getting  the  ship  in  good  sailing 
trim,  giving  an  extra  drag  on  halliards  and  sheets 
till  every  sail  was  drawing  with  a  taut  leech. 

We  made  a  gallant  show  as  we  left  the  coast 
on  our  southward  voyage.  The  ship,  although 
carrying  over  2,000  tons  of  guano,  did  not  float 
so  deep  as  might  have  been  expected.  She  was 
as  tight  as  a  bottle,  and  although  every  night  the 
pumps  were  manned,  eighteen  inches  was  the  most 
water  that  ever  she  made,  being  just  about  enough 
to  keep  her  sweet. 

I  now  resumed  my  old  occupation  of  serving 
out  buckets,  brooms,  and  holystones  every  morning, 


Ho!  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN!  231 

but  a  sudden  stop  was  put  to  tjhe  sweet  sleeps 
Barney  and  I  used  to  indulge  in  during  our  night 
watches.  When  the  watches  were  picked  on  the 
first  night  after  leaving  Callao,  Barney  and  I  were 
still  in  the  port  watch.  We  were  glad  of  this,  for 
several  reasons.  One  was  that  the  mate  was  sure 
to  find  fault  with  anything  that  was  done  by  the 
starboard  watch,  whilst  there  was  no  one  to  say 
a  word  to  him  as  to  how  the  duty  was  performed 
by  his  own  watch.  He  was  also  quite  capable,  we 
thought,  of  calling  all  hands  for  no  earthly  reason 
but  to  gratify  his  love  of  petty  annoyance,  and 
we  thought,  however  often  he  might  see  fit  to 
rouse  out  the  second  mate's  watch,  he  would  not 
be  likely  to  allow  ours  to  be  turned  out  unless 
in  cases  of  absolute  necessity,  because  that  meant 
keeping  the  deck  himself.  As  soon  as  the  watches 
were  arranged,  he  said: 

"Before  you  go  below,  I  want  you  all  to  under- 
stand  that  there's  going  to  be  no  skulking  aboard 
this  ship.  The  watch  on  deck  will  keep  at  the 
break  of  the  quarter-deck,  and  keep  moving.  The 
Lord  help  the  man  or  boy  I  catch  sitting  down, 
that's  all!  Go  below,  the  starboard  watch." 

Here  was  a  treat !  In  fine  weather,  with  the 
trade  wind  bowling  us  along,  and  not  the  slightest 
fear  of  squalls  or  light  winds,  we  were  to  keep  on 


232  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  move,  and  not  only  that  but  we  were  to  be 
kept  right  under  his  eye,  so  that  there  would  be 
no  possibility  of  snatching  forty  winks.  If  curses 
could  kill,  the  mate's  lease  of  life  would  have  been 
a  short  one.  But  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and 
the  port  watch  stood  about  doing  nothing  but 
keeping  awake  for  four  hours,  from  eight  p.m.  till 
midnight.  One  man  leaned  over  the  lee  rail. 
He  had  not  been  there  five  minutes  when  the  mate 
sneaked  up  behind  him,  seized  him  by  the  collar, 
dragged  him  backwards  on  to  the  deck,  and  pounded 
his  face  with  his  fists,  at  the  same  time  calling 
him  all  the  opprobrious  names  he  could  think  of. 
It  was  merely  a  sample  of  what  was  to  follow. 

After  this  began  a  series  of  such  atrocities  that 
an  occasional  account  of  what  passed  will  give  a 
fair  idea  of  the  life  we  led  under  this  ruffian's  rule. 
Cruelty  and  abuse  were  the  order  of  the  day. 

When  the  watch  was  called,  the  mate  would 
sometimes  stand  at  the  forecastle  hatch  armed 
with  a  belaying  pin.  The  last  man  up  was  felled, 
then  jumped  upon,  kicked  about  the  head  and 
face,  and  generally  brutally  ill-used. 

"Reckon  you'll  find  it  pay  to  be  smarter  next 
time,  you  sleepy  hound.  Get  aft  double  quick,  or 
I'll  help  you  along,"  he  would  say. 

I  will  give  two  illustrations  of  the  mate's  mode 


Ho!  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN!  233 

of  proceeding  with  the  crew,  one  in  fine  weather, 
the  other  in  bad.  During  a  calm,  he  determined 
to  have  the  outside  of  the  ship  scraped  ready  for 
painting.  Scaffolds  and  stages  were  rigged  over 
the  side,  and  I  was  ordered  to  serve  out  scrapers. 
A  scraper  is  not  a  valuable  instrument.  It  is 
merely  a  triangular  piece  of  steel  with  a  handle 
fitted  in  the  centre,  and  is  used  for  scraping 
barnacles,  weeds,  and  tar  off  the  ship's  sides.  As 
the  men  were  going  over  the  side  to  work  he  said : 

"  I  guess  some  of  you  had  better  lose  a  scraper 
overboard."  It  was  all  he  said,  but  it  was 
very  significant.  The  men  knew  from  his  look 
that  some  cruel  punishment  would  follow  the 
loss  of  a  scraper,  and  some  of  them  were  'cute 
enough  to  sling  them  round  their  necks  by  a  lan- 
yard, so  that  in  case  the  tool  did  slip  out  of  their 
hands,  it  would  not  be  lost  In  about  an  hour's 
time  one  unhappy  man  came  inboard. 

"Please,  sir,  I've  dropped  a  scraper.  It  was 
the  head  came  off.  Here's  the  heft  of  it.  It  wasn't 
my  fault,  sir." 

"  H — 1 !  You've  dropped  your  darned  scraper, 
hev  you  ?  Waal,  I  guess  you'd  jes'  best  get  another 
and  get  away  to  your  work  darned  quick." 

Wondering  at  getting  off  so  easily,  the  man 
got  a  fresh  scraper  and  returned  to  his  work. 


234  THE  SHELLBACK. 

I  watched  the  mate.  I  was  not  deceived  by  his 
apparent  calmness.  I  saw  him  go  into  his  berth. 
"  Ho  ho ! "  thought  I.  "  Knuckledusters  ! "  I  knew 
he  always  carried  his  revolver  in  his  pocket.  He 
came  out  again,  and  I  saw  him  saunter  to  the  side 
and  look  over.  Suddenly  he  sprang  over  the  rail, 
slid  down  the  guys  of  the  scaffolding,  and  gripped 
the  man  who  had  lost  the  scraper.  The  ship  was 
rolling  very  lazily  on  the  glassy  sea,  just  enough 
to  plunge  the  staging  a  few  inches  under  water 
at  every  roll.  Down  went  the  man  on  his  back  on 
the  plank.  He  seized  the  mate,  and  both  fought 
desperately  on  the  narrow  plank.  Why  both  did 
not  roll  off  into  the  sea  I  cannot  imagine,  unless 
the  mate  held  on  to  the  lashings  with  his  legs. 
Smash  into  the  man's  face  went  the  mate's  knuckle- 
dusters. Then  the  ship  rolled,  and  the  wretch 
held  the  man's  face  under  water  till  she  came  up 
again.  Again  and  again  did  this  happen,  till  the 
brute  was  tired.  Then  he  released  his  half- 
conscious  victim,  but  refused  to  allow  him  to  corne 
on  deck  When  the  watch  was  over  he  ordered 
him  to  stand  another  four  hours'  watch  on  deck  ; 
and  as  the  next  watch  would  be  his  again,  the 
poor  fellow  had  twelve  hours'  straight  away,  eleven 
of  them  passed  in  great  pain  and  suffering  from 
the  inhuman  treatment  he  had  received.  Out  of 


Ho!  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN!  235 

twenty  hours  he  only  got  three  and  a  half  hours' 
sleep. 

One  night  it  came  on  to  blow  pretty  hard,  and 
as  the  wind  was  increasing  the  fore  and  mizzen 
royals  were  stowed.  The  main  royal  was  still 
carried.  The  second  mate  suggested  clewing  it  up, 
upon  which  the  mate  sang  out :  "  Clew  up  the 
mizzen  topgallant  sail.  Let  go  the  halliards,  boy/' 
(to  me).  "Away  aloft  there,  and  get  in  that  sail. 
Slack  up  the  sheets.  Haul  up  your  clewlines. 
Be  smart  now!  Do  you  want  the  darned  stick 
out  of  her  ?  Haul  up  your  buntlines  and  leech- 
lines.  So!  that'll  do.  Make  fast.  Get  a  pull  on 
the  lee  brace.  That'll  do.  Belay  ! " 

The  second  mate  now  said  something  again 
about  the  main  royal,  but  I  was  too  busy  to  hear 
what  it  was;  but  I  heard  the  mate  reply: 

"When  I  want  a  darned  living  man  to  teach 
me  my  business,  I'll  advertise  for  him  in  the  New 
York  Herald;  but  till  that  ad.  appears  I'll  trouble 
you  to  mind  your  own  business,  sir." 

Barney  and  I  stood  watching  the  main  royal 
with  great  anxiety.  It  was  our  business  to  furl 
it,  and  the  wind  had  now  increased  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  mast  was  bending  like  a  whip- 
stick,  and  when  we  did  go  up  we  stood  to  have  a 
fall  of  over  two  hundred  feet.  We  made  sure  the 


236  THE  SHELLBACK. 

mast  would  go,  but  what  if  it  did  not  go  till  we 
were  on  the  yard? 

"  Riley,"  whispered  Barney,  "  the  mate  means  it." 

"  Means  what  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Why,  look  at  that  royal,"  he  replied.  "  Whose 
business  is  it  to  take  it  in  ? " 

"Why,  yours  and  mine,  I  suppose,"  I  sulkily 
answered. 

"Yes,"  he  went  on;  "and  how  do  you  think 
that  yard's  going  to  stand  you  and  me  and  the 
sail  on  it  if  it  blows  another  pound  ? " 

"What?"  I  said.  "Do  you  think  he  means  to 
carry  on  till  he  concludes  that  you  and  I  will  go 
to  leeward  with  the  mast?" 

"  Do  I  think  so,  Kiley  ?  I'm  d- well  sure 

of  it.  He  wants  to  get  rid  of  you  and  me.  I 
heard  him  call  us  the  captain's  pet  monkeys,  but 
he'd  give  us  monkey's  allowance  the  first  chance 
he  got." 

"  Right ! "  I  said.  "  I'm  not  on  for  a  cold  bath 
to-night,  and  I  don't  suppose  either  of  us  wants 
to  leave  our  carcass  in  the  Pacific,  so  here  goes 
to  ask  him  to  take  it  in." 

I  walked  boldly  up  to  the  mate  and  said: 
"Please,  Mr.  Bray,  let  Barney  and  me  take  in  the 
main  royal.  It'll  be  a  dangerous  job  by-and-by." 

He    turned    on    me    and    snarled:    "Oh,    hell! 


Ho  !  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN  !  237 

You  darned  young  fool !  You  superannuated  young 
idiot!  Do  you  think  I'm  going  to  let  you  useless 
young  dogs  fool  away  your  lives  up  there?  Shet 
your  baboon's  gash  and  get  to  loo'ard,  darn  yer 
skin!" 

I  felt  immensely  relieved.  He  meant  to  kill 
somebody,  but  it  was  certainly  not  the  pet  monkeys. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  passed.  I  could  hear  the 
men  talking,  and  they  felt  certain  the  royal  mast, 
and  possibly  the  topgallant  mast,  would  be  over 
the  side  very  shortly. 

Suddenly  the  mate  drawled  out: 

"Clew  up  the  main  royal!" 

I  flew  to  the  halliards  and  let  them  go,  but 
the  force  of  the  wind  would  not  let  the  yard  come 
down  at  once. 

"  Get  on  to  the  weather  royal  brace,  darn  yer 
picters !  Haul  in  on  it.  In  with  it  and  spill  the 
sail.  Up  with  them  clewlines.  Slack  off  the  lee 
brace.  So,  make  fast.  Git  aloft  there,  two  hands. 
Johnston "  (calling  to  the  ordinary  seaman  before 
mentioned),  "you  too,  Murray,  up  you  go!  Come, 
look  spry !  What  are  yer  gapinj  at  ?  Reckoning 
you'll  let  it  blow  away  and  pay  for  it,  eh  ? "  He 
ran  to  the  rail  and  whipped  out  his  favourite  in- 
strument— a  belaying  pin. 

Johnston  was  the  man  who  had  lost  the  scraper, 


238  THE  SHELLBACK. 

and  Murray  was  the  so-called  Ballarat  who  had 
tried  to  get  away  with  me.  They  saw  the  danger 
of  getting  in  the  sail,  but,  as  Johnston  said  after- 
wards, they  would  have  been  just  as  glad  if  they 
had  gone  to  leeward  with  the  mast  that  night  as 
to  stay  and  be  worked  up  and  bullied  for  another 
five  months.  So  he  and  Murray  sprang  into  the 
weather  rigging  and  were  soon  laying  out  on  the 
yard.  We  watched  them  against  the  sky.  The 
sail,  now  that  it  was  clewed  up,  thrashed  about 
furiously  and  gave  dangerous  jerks  to  the  yard. 
I  really  believe  that  the  mate  slily  eased  off  the 
lee  brace  and  conveniently  forgot  to  haul  in  on 
the  weather  royal  brace.  The  yard  swung  about 
so  fearfully  that  this  must  have  been  the  case. 

A  couple  of  men,  however,  came  without  orders 
and  hauled  the  lee  brace  taut.  The  two  men 
succeeded  in  taking  in  the  sail  and  securing  it  in 
the  gaskets.  As  they  were  coming  down  the  mate 
said  to  me :  "  Waal,  now,  I  do  declare !  I  didn't 
expect  to  see  them  two  come  down  so  slow.  The 
yard  was  sprung  two  days  ago." 

So  this  fellow  actually  had  examined  the  yard, 
had  seen  that  it  was  sprung,  yet  said  nothing  to 
either  carpenter  or  boatswain,  who  both  should 
have  known  it  had  they  done  their  duty.  Then 
the  mate  kept  it  dark,  apparently  in  order  that  he 


Ho  !  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN  t  239 

might  wreak  his  spite  on  a  poor  sailor  by  indirectly 
murdering  him.  The  ship  on  this  occasion  was 
going  eight  knots,  and  there  was  a  tidy  sea  on,  so 
that  I  am  sure  the  captain  would  not  have  risked 
lowering  a  boat.  But  we  had  not  yet  done  with 
troubles.  The  wind  gained  in  strength,  and  a  big 
sea  was  getting  up,  which  brought  the  captain  on 
deck.  He  looked  up  at  the  fore  and  main  top- 
gallant sails. 

"'Bout  time  to  strip  her  a  little  more,  Mr. 
Bray,"  said  he. 

"Very  good,  sir,"  replied  the  mate,  and  he 
immediately  gave  the  order: 

"  Clew  up  the  fore  and  main  topgallant  sails." 
The  halliards  were  promptly  let  go,  sheets  eased 
off,  clewlines  hauled  up,  and  in  a  couple  of 
minutes  four  hands  were  running  up  the  main 
and  four  up  the  fore  rigging  to  stow  the  sails. 
The  mate  kept  up  a  running  fire  of  bad  language 
at  them  for  being  so  slow.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
for  a  merchant  ship  the  work  was  as  smartly  done 
as  I  have  ever  seen  it  done  since. 

The  wind  was  now  rapidly  increasing  to  a  gale, 
and  it  was  full  time  a  reef  was  taken  in  the  top- 
sails. 

"Haul  up  the  crossjack!"  was  the  next  order, 
but  he  paid  no  attention  to  how  this  was  executed. 


240  THE  SHELLBACK. 

He  had  his  eye  on  the  men  on  the  main  top- 
gallant yard.  He  would  not  assist  them  by  trim- 
ming the  yard  so  as  to  spill  the  sail,  and  it  blew 
over  them  like  a  balloon.  At  last  they  beat  it 
down,  secured  it,  and  came  down. 

"Waal,  you  b lot  of  sojers.  Was  yer 

concludin'  to  doss  down  up  there  ?  Ill  give  yer 

another  chance, .  d if  I  don't.  Loose  the  main 

topgallant  sail!"  he  yelled. 

The  captain  never  said  a  word,  but  he  smiled. 
I  saw  the  smile  by  the  light  of  the  cabin  coming 
through  the  skylight.  He  evidently  thought  he 
had  got  the  right  man  at  last 

"  Lay  aloft,  ye  scowbankers  !  Lay  aloft,  there  ! 
Up  with  yer  before  I  start  yer ! "  and  he  flourished 
his  belaying  pin  as  if  ready  for  a  rush  at  them. 

Away  aloft  went  the  same  four  men,  although 
two  or  even  one  was  enough  to  loose  a  sail  like 
that.  The  sail  was  loosed  and  sheeted  home. 

"  Now  overhaul  yer  gear  up  there !  D'ye  hear  ? 
Lay  down  from  aloft  all  but  one  hand ! "  Three 
men  came  down.  The  yard  was  hoisted.  By  this 
time  the  gale  was  on  us  in  earnest.  It  was  a 
source  of  positive  danger  to  go  aloft  and  furl  the 
sail  again.  The  mast  might  go  at  any  moment 
unless  the  sail  blew  out  of  the  bolt  ropes.  Vvre 
knew  that  the  topmast  was  none  of  the  soundest, 


Ho!  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN!          241 

and  that  might  also  have  gone  whilst  this  devil 
was  fooling  away  men's  lives  to  vent  his  spite.  I 
never  could  understand  why  the  captain  took  such 
a  risk  The  mate  waited  till  the  men  were  on 
deck,  and  then  gave  the  order  to  clew  up  the  sail 
It  was  duly  clewed  up,  but  not  a  man  stirred  to 
go  aloft. 

"  Lay  aloft  there,  three  hands !  What  the  

are  you  thinking  about?  Do  you  want  to  see  the 
stick  carried  away  ? "  roared  the  mate. 

"  No !  but  you  do,"  said  a  voice  out  of  the 
dark  mass  of  the  crew.  "  And  you  want  to  see  us 
go  with  it." 

It  was  too  dark  to  distinguish  faces,  so  the 
speaker  escaped. 

"  Go  into  them,  Mr.  Bray,"  said  the  captain 
quietly.  "  Mutiny  again,  by " 

The  mate  was  no  coward,  cruel  as  he  was.  He 
changed  his  wooden  belaying  pin  for  an  iron  one, 
and  dashed  in  among  them.  They  scattered  in  all 
directions. 

Now  it  happened  that  the  old  sow's  stye 
stood  at  the  foot  of  the  mainmast,  and,  owing  to 
the  rolling  of  the  ship,  the  greasy  slush  from  the 
food  trough  had  run  over  the  deck.  As  the  mate 
sprang  on  the  men,  his,  foot  slipped,  and  he  fell 
full  length.  At  that  moment  a  sheath  knife  buried 
Q 


242  THE  SHELLBACK. 

its  point  in  the  deck  close  to  his  head.  I  saw 
the  knife  raised,  but  it  came  down  before  I  had 
time  to  say  a  word  in  the  way  of  warning,  and 
as  no  harm  came  of  it  I  held  my  tongue  after- 
wards. At  once  three  men  sprang  aloft,  and  the 
sail  was  soon  secured.  The  mate  got  up  and 
walked  aft  without  another  word.  He  called  to 
Mr.  See: 

"Call  all  hands,  Mr.  See,  to  shorten  sail." 

The  starboard  watch  tumbled  up  directly. 

Now  if  this  brute  had  only  carried  on  the  duty 
in  a  rational  manner,  and  shortened  sail  gradually 
as  the  wind  freshened,  there  would  have  been  no 
need  to  call  all  hands.  We  were  not  a  strong 
crew,  but  with  double  topsail  yards  a  topsail  is 
almost  reefed  when  the  upper  yard  is  let  go,  and 
it  is  no  great  feat  for  ten  men  and  four  boys  to 
reef  or  double  reef  the  upper  topsail.  But  he 
must  needs  worry  the  men,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  all  hands  were  kept  on  deck,  reefing  top- 
sails and  stowing  the  mainsail,  until  far  into  the 
next  watch. 

I  have  mentioned  that  he  issued  an  order  for 
the  watch  on  deck  to  gather  near  the  quarter-deck 
and  to  keep  moving.  His  great  delight  was  to 
catch  a  man  sitting  down.  He  would  sneak  up  to 
him  and  take  him  by  the  heels  and  drag  him 


Ho  !  FOR  THE  STORMY  HORN  !  243 

violently  on  to  the  deck,  and  then  play  a  tattoo 
on  the  poor  fellow's  face  with  his  sea  boots.  We 
boys  did  not  altogether  escape  our  share  of  the 
nightly  worry.  Although  he  never  actually  ill- 
treated  us,  still  he  refused  to  sanction  our  un- 
hallowed sleeps  in  the  'companion  way.  We  were 
compelled  to  keep  the  bells  going  ourselves;  there 
was  no  deputing  the  matter  to  an  ordinary  seamaa 
One  night  I  was  snoozing,  in  spite  of  my  dread  of  a 
rough  awakening,  when  I  felt  myself  pinched  on  the 
ear,  and  heard  the  well-known  drawl  of  the  mate : 

"What  time  is  it,  boy?" 

I  started  up,  and,  knowing  as  much  about  the 
time  at  that  moment  as  I  did  of  the  millennium,  I 
stammered  out: 

"Five  bells,  sir." 

The  last  I  had  heard  was  four. 

"  Five  bells,  eh  ?  Oh,  h— 1 !  Guess  you'd  best 
put  three  more  on  to  that,  and  pretty  slick  too,  or 
there'll  be  h — 1  to  pay  in  your  case,  my  lad," 
said  the  mate. 

I  was  so  stupid  with  sleep  that  I  did  not 
know  where  I  was,  and  when  he  told  rne  to  strike 
eight  bells  I  started  to  run  forward,  when  he 
stopped  me  with: 

"Whar'  in  the  'tarnal  thunder  are  you  bound 
for  ?  Can't  you  find  the  after  bell  yet  ?  " 


244  THR  SHELLBACK:. 

This  brought  me  to  my  senses.  I  went  to  the 
bell  and  rapped  a  quartette  of  double  strokes, 
feeling  sure  that  I  was  in  for  a  second  dose  of  four 
hours  on  deck.  However,  my  tricky  friend  was 
very  amiable  on  this  occasion,  and  he  actually 
recommended  me  to  sleep  double  tides  before  four 
o'clock,  when  it  would  again  be  my  watch.  I  dived 
below,  feeling  actually  grateful  to  the  brute. 

It,  would  be  wearisome  to  go  over  the  details 
of  the  everyday  cruelties  and  annoyances  to  which 
the  crew  were  subjected  during  the  passage  home. 
I  shall  only  recur  to  them  again  as  occasion  may 
require. 


245 


CHAPTER  XV. 
A  "PAMPERO"  OFF  THE  PLATE. 

IN  Mr.  Dickens's  time  we  boys  were  required  to 
give  in  the  "  day's  work "  every  afternoon,  and  as 
we  now  had  the  longitude  to  work  out  as  well,  this 
found  us  profitable  occupation  for  about  three  hours 
in  every  afternoon  watch.  The  mate  grumbled  and 
said  he  never  could  find  a  boy  on  deck,  but  the 
weather  was  fine,  the  ship  making  good  headway, 
and  he  did  not  interfere. 

One  afternoon  I  had  been  in  the  captain's  cabin 
getting  a  lesson  in  lunar  observation,  when  there 
arose  a  tremendous  row  on  deck.  The  ship  heeled 
over  till  everything  slid  off  the  cabin  table  and 
the  glass  rack  and  lamp  overhead  almost  touched 
the  beams.  Then  followed  orders  thick  and  fast : 

"  All  hands  shorten  sail !  Tumble  up !  Tumble 
up,  there!" 

"  Let  go  the  topgallant  halliards !  Topsail  hal- 
liards, let  go  !  Let  go  all  and  clew  up." 

Then  came  such  a  thrashing  and  slatting  and 
banging  of  sails  that  pandemonium  seemed  let 
loose.  The  mates  were  shouting  and  swearing,  arid 


246  THE  SHELLBACK. 

generally  there  was  a  row  which  usually  ends  in  the 
ship  being  reduced  to  short  canvas,  and  the  watch 
below  being  sent  down  to  finish  their  sleep. 

I  jumped  up  at  once  to  run  on  deck,  but  the 
captain  said: 

"Stay  where  you  are.  It's  only  a  squall,  and 
you're  not  wanted/'  and  went  on  deck. 

I  was  quite  satisfied  with  the  arrangement.  I 
took  a  book  and  lay  down  on  the  sofa  to  read, 
whilst  the  other  fellows  spent  a  couple  of  lively 
hours  shortening  and  making  sail  and  clearing  up 
the  raffle  of  running  gear  which  strewed  the  deck. 
I  imagined  myself  the  captain,  and  that  my  officers 
and  crew  were  carrying  out  my  orders;  and  so 
pleased  was  I  with  myself  that  I  walked  to  the 
captain's  end  of  the  table,  where  was  a  decanter  of 
wine,  and  pouring  out  a  glass  drank  my  own 
health. 

By-and-by  all  was  quiet ;  the  ship  was  under  easy 
sail,  and  the  captain  came  down  again.  He  began 
by  abusing  me  roundly  for  not  being  on  deck,  and 
only  desisted  when  I  told  him  I  was  going  on 
deck  the  moment  I  had  heard  the  squall  strike 
the  ship,  but  he  had  ordered  me  to  remain  in  the 
cabin.  Then  he  became  more  amiable,  and  sent 
me  up.  On  deck  I  found  my  watch  just  about  to 
go  below,  so  I  fared  well  on  that  occasion. 


A  "PAMPERO"  OFF  THE  PLATE.          247 

We  were  now  getting  into  high  latitudes,  and 
the  weather  was  becoming  cold,  and  ice  might  be 
looked  for. 

Every  other  morning,  when  I  had  served  out 
the  wash-deck  stores,  the  mate  sent  me  aloft  to  sit 
on  the  royal  yard  and  look  out  for  icebergs.  I 
used  to  put  on  a  muffler  and  a  pair  of  mittens 
and  a  monkey-jacket,  and  sit  there  till  it  was  time 
to  rouse  out  the  watch  below  for  breakfast.  I  liked 
this  business,  as  I  was  clear  away  from  all  work 
and  bother,  and  could  indulge  in  a  pipe. 

When  I  got  on  deck  I  used  to  report:  "Nothing 
in  sight,  sir " ;  and  the  customary  reply  was :  "  All 
right ;  go  and  call  Mr.  Marshall." 

I  said  that  we  had  a  sow  on  board.  She  was 
provided  with  a  very  large  stye  with  a  cover  on 
hinges,  which  could  be  let  down  in  heavy  weather. 
We  were  just  getting  into  the  cold  latitudes  when 
this  animal  became  the  mother  of  a  fine  litter  of 
ten.  The  captain  was  delighted,  and  he  took  as 
much  care  of  them  as  if  they  were  children.  Pig- 
like,  the  mother  developed  a  taste  for  sucking-pig. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  she  had  devoured 
one  of  her  offspring,  the  old  man  took  prompt 
measures.  He  ordered  Johnston  to  get  into  the 
stye  and  keep  guard.  This  was  a  service  of  some 
danger,  for  the  sow  was  a  savage  old  brute.  But 


248  THE  SHELLBACK. 

it  was  more  dangerous  to  refuse,  so  poor  Johnston 
got  into  the  stye  with  the  swine  and  spent  his 
watch  there,  only  coming  out  occasionally  to  stretch 
his  legs.  He  was  armed  with  a  belaying  pin,  and 
he  had  two  or  three  battles  with  the  old  mother, 
and  once  she  bit  him  badly  in  the  leg. 

The  captain  and  mate  had  now  discovered  a 
capital  method  of  punishing  men  who  slept  during 
their  watch  on  deck — they  were  clapped  into  the 
pig-stye !  The  mate  suggested  that  the  apprentices 
might  be  employed  at  this  work,  but  the  captain 
did  not  entertain  the  idea., 

Once,  on  a  bitterly  cold  night,  Barney  thought 
it  would  be  a  nice  warm  berth,  so  he  got  Johnston 
out  and  took  his  place.  He  fell  fast  asleep,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  there  was  a  regular  squealing 
match.  The  mate  rushed  to  the  stye  just  in  time 
to  save  a  little  grunter  from  being  crushed  to  death 
by  the  mother.  Barney  was  kept  in  the  stye  and 
was  ordered  to  continue  talking  loudly  to  Johnston 
for  the  rest  of  the  watch,  to  show  that  he  was 
awake.  After  this  experience,  he  preferred  the  fresh 
air  of  the  deck. 

The  weather  gradually  got  colder,  and  it  was 
bitter  work  at  night.  We  had  a  great  deal  of  rain, 
and  occasionally  a  snowstorm,  but  there  was  no 
really  bad  Cape  Horn  weather.  We  sighted  a  few 


A  "PAMPERO"  OFF  THE  PLATE.          249 

icebergs,  but  steered  clear  of  them  without  any 
trouble.  We  saw  one  magnificent  berg,  or  island  of 
ice,  rather.  It  had  perpendicular  sides  and  rose  at 
least  two  hundred  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  sea. 
The  top  seemed  to  be  a  table-land.  It  showed  no 
fantastic  peaks  or  overhanging  masses,  but  seemed 
to  be  a  huge  oblong  mass  of  ice  broken  away  from 
the  Antarctic  ice-barrier.  Everywhere  the  sides  came 
sheer  down  to  the  water.  I  thought  what  a  terrible 
thing  it  would  be  to  run  against  such  a  mass  on  a 
black  night  driving  before  a  hurricane.  There  could 
be  no  possible  salvation  for  a  single  man.  The 
ship's  bows  would  be  stove  in  like  the  top  of  an 
egg,  and  she  would  go  down  in  a  few  minutes  with 
all  hands.  And  even  supposing  that  a  boat  could 
have  been  launched,  what  hope  could  there  be 
of  anyone  in  her  surviving  a  single  night  in 
such  terrible  weather,  with  the  thermometer  below 
zero  ? 

Now  it  was  that  the  unfortunate  men  who  had 
been  imprisoned  felt  severely  the  want  of  warm 
clothing.  Their  messmates  did  what  they  could 
for  them,  but  that  was  very  little,  as  a  sailor's  kit 
is  not  lavishly  supplied  with  extra  clothing.  The 
weather  was  frightfully  cold,  and  the  work  of  short- 
ening sail  in  a  gale  which  cut  a  well-clad  man 
through  like  a  knife,  with  its  keen  icy  blast,  was 


250  THE  SHELLBACK. 

terribly  trying.  Of  course,  we  had  to  take  off  our 
mittens  when  going  aloft,  as  every  finger  was 
required  to  hold  on  to  the  rigging.  There  was  not 
the  slightest  chance  for  a  man  if  he  went  over- 
board at  such  times.  No  boat  could  have  lived  in 
the  tremendous  seas  which  we  encountered  after 
leaving  our  ice  island  astern.  Even  if  the  ship 
could  be  hove  to,  it  would  not  have  been  of  the 
slightest  use.  Thus  a  slip  from  aloft  meant  certain 
death.  We  were,  however,  fortunate  on  this  voyage, 
for  we  did  not  meet  with  continuous  heavy  weather, 
and  as  we  rounded  the  terrible  Cape  we  were 
carrying  all  plain  sail.  We  passed  close  enough  to 
the  rocky  islet  which  forms  the  southernmost 
point  of  South  America  to  get  a  capital  view  of  it. 
The  Horn  is  usually  wreathed  with  mist  or  driving 
snow,  sleet,  and  rain,  but  it  happened  to  be  perfectly 
clear  as  we  went  by.  We  could  plainly  discern  the 
naked  black  rocks  of  the  southernmost  of  the  group 
of  islands  at  the  Cape,  against  which  the  vast 
rollers  of  the  Antarctic  Sea  broke  with  a  cease- 
less roar.  I  was  very  anxious  to  see  some  of  the 
natives  of  the  Chileno-Patagonian  race,  who  gain  a 
wretched  living  by  fishing  and  seal-hunting  on  this 
bleak  and  barren  coast,  but  although  we  could  see 
the  coast  and  even  the  beach  with  the  glasses,  not 
a  sign  of  life  was  perceptible. 


A  "PAMPERO"  OFF  THE  PLATE.          251 

The  captain  told  us  that  he  had  once  been 
ashore  at  Tierra  del  Fuego,  and  in  spite  of  the 
terrible  cold  of  a  country  where  snow,  sleet,  rain, 
and  frost  are  of  daily  occurrence,  the  Fuegians 
wore  no  clothing  beyond  a  piece  of  sealskin  thrown 
over  their  shoulders,  and  that  when  fishing  from 
their  canoes  they  discard  even  this.  We,  I  know, 
felt  the  cold  bitterly,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the 
abject  misery  in  which  I  spent  a  whole  watch  one 
night.  I  had  just  come  on  deck  at  midnight,  well 
wrapped  up  in  warm  clothing — a  couple  of  warm 
flannel  shirts,  a  woollen  jersey,  and  over  all  a 
thick  monkey-jacket,  warm  baize-lined  india- 
rubber  sea  boots,  a  warm  cap  with  big  ear-flaps, 
and  finally  a  thick  comforter  and  double -lined 
mittens. 

As  I  walked  over  to  the  lee  side,  the  captain 
called  to  me,  and  asked  me  what  clothes  I  had  on. 
I  told  him. 

"My  goodness,  boy!  Why,  what  chance  would 
you  have  if  you  fell  overboard  with  all  that  on? 
Take  off  that  jacket  and  muffler." 

I  took  them  off,  and  he  then  helped  me  to 
drag  off  my  jersey.  I  now  stood  exposed  to  the 
biting,  icy  wind  in  only  my  flannel  shirts. 

"There/'  he  said;  "now  you'll  feel  more  free  to 
swim  if  you  go  over.  You'd  no  chance  before." 


252  THE  SHELLBACK. 

And  in  order  to  give  me  a  chance  to  try  the 
correctness  of  his  view,  he  added: 

"  Just  go  up  on  the  mizzen  topsail  yard  and  cool 
yourself" 

I  was  already  shivering  with  cold.  I  felt  I  was 
turning  blue;  but  up  I  had  to  go,  and  sit  on  the 
upper  topsail  yard,  exposed  not  only  to  the  wind 
blowing  over  the  quarter  but  to  the  blast  down- 
ward from  the  topgallant  sails  above  me.  There 
was,  of  course,  not  the  slightest  shelter,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  I  was  so  numbed  that  when  he 
hailed  me  to  come  down  I  could  not  answer,  and 
my  fingers  were  so  cramped  by  holding  on  that  a 
man  had  to  come  up  and  loosen  my  grip,  and  half 
carry  me  down  to  deck.  Why  the  captain  served 
me  in  this  manner  I  never  found  out.  He  himselt 
was  wrapped  up  at  the  time  like  a  Newfoundland 
banksman. 

No  chance  for  him  if  he  happened  to  drop  into 
the  sea! 

After  this  we  got  a  splendid  south-easterly  wind, 
and  gradually  left  these  bleak,  icy  regions.  But, 
soon  after  rounding  the  Horn,  this  breeze  freshened 
up  to  a  heavy  gale,  which  necessitated  our  heaving 
to  for  a  night.  On  the  following  morning  the  gale 
broke,  but  although  it  was  a  fair  wind  for  us,  the 
captain  still  kept  the  ship  under  short  canvas,  and 


"ALL    DAY    LONG    SHE    FLEW    BEFORE    IT." 


A  "PAMPERO"  OFF  THE  PLATE.  253 

we  were  merely  head-reaching  along  in  company 
with  a  deeply-laden  Norwegian  barque.  Every  now 
and  then  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  hid  everything  from 
view.  During  a  long  interval  between  the  snow- 
storms we  beheld  a  most  magnificent  sight  A  large 
vessel  came  thundering  along,  throwing  billows  of 
white  spume  in  clouds  of  spray  from  her  bows 
She  was  coming  up  hand  over  hand  with  us,  bowing 
and  ducking  as  she  heeled  over  to  the  strong 
breeze.  On  she  came,  and  passed  between  us  and 
the  Norwegian.  We  recognised  her  at  once.  It 
was  the  famous  Great  Britain,  then  under  the 
command  of  the  noble  and  popular  but  ill-fated 
Captain  Gray.  What  a  magnificent  vessel  she 
looked !  Those  who  admired  her  in  port  could 
not  dream  of  the  sight  she  presented  in  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  we  saw  her.  She  was  so 
close  that  the  two  captains  were  able  to  speak 
through  the  trumpets,  and  as  she  heeled  over 
towards  us  we  could  see  the  Australian  passengers 
on  her  decks  looking  over  the  bulwarks  at  us,  and 
probably  wondering  to  see  a  ship  as  large  as  their 
own,  apparently,  wallowing  through  the  water  with 
only  topsails,  spanker,  fore  topmast  stay  sail  and 
jibs  set,  while  they  were  tearing  along  with  topmast 
studding  sails  set  and  preventer  braces  rove.  She 
was  soon  obscured  from  view  by  the  snow  and 


254  THE  SHELLBACK. 

sleet,  which  seemed  to  swallow  her  up  while  we 
were  gazing  at  her.  Such  a  sight  was  not  calcu- 
lated to  improve  our  captain's  temper,  and  all 
hands  had  a  miserable  time  of  it  for  long  afterwards. 
Off  the  Kio  de  la  Plata  we  experienced  the 
worst  weather  we  had  yet  seen,  but  long  ago  our 
rotten  gear  had  been  replaced,  and  we  had  one  of 
our  strongest  suits  of  sails  bent.  As  the  "pam- 
pero" came  down  upon  us  we  took  the  cloths  off 
her  one  after  the  other  till  she  was  running  under 
close-reefed  upper  fore  and  main  topsails,  fore  top- 
mast stay  sail,  and  fore  saiL  A  mountainous  sea  got 
up,  and  the  gale  came  in  fits  and  starts— heavy 
squalls  and  partial  lulls  between.  All  hands  were 
standing  by  ready  for  whatever  might  happen. 
The  ship  was  deluged  with  water  fore  and  aft,  and 
at  times  she  rolled  till  her  lower  yard  arms 
touched  the  water.  Suddenly  a  terrific  squall 
struck  us.  Captain  and  mate  roared  out  together  to 
let  go  everything,  but  it  was  too  late.  The  whole 
of  the  sails  blew  clean  out  of  the  bolt  ropes, 
leaving  us  under  bare  poles.  Now  the  gale  blew 
up  into  a  furious  hurricane.  There  could  be  no 
question  of  trying  to  heave  to.  In  that  moun- 
tainous, confused  sea  we  should  have  foundered 
to  a  certainty.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to 
let  her  drive  under  bare  poles,  and  all  day  long 


4  "PAMPERO"  OFF  THE  PLATE.          255 

she  flew  before  it,  the  vast  seas  running  right  over 
her.  We  scarcely  expected  her  to  live  through  it, 
but  she  did,  and  went  at  a  rate  of  quite  seven 
knots  without  a  rag  of  canvas  on  her.  Towards 
evening  the  weather  moderated,  but  just  as  we 
had  started  to  unbend  the  remains  of  the  lost 
sails  it  piped  up  again,  and  we  again  had  to  run 
before  it.  This  lasted  for  three  days,  during 
which  time  no  man  had  turned  in  or  taken  off  his 
oilskins,  nor  had  there  been  anything  to  eat  but 
biscuits  washed  down  with  rum  and  water. 

After  the  third  day  the  weather  moderated, 
and  we  soon  had  repaired  damages.  Now  we 
slipped  away  northwards  into  a  region  of  detest- 
able calms — the  calms  of  Capricorn.  Day  after 
day  the  ship  either  lay  like  a  log  or  we  got  a 
head  wind  which  again  changed  to  a  southerly 
puff,  which  in  its  turn  faded  away  into  a  mere 
catspaw,  leaving  the  ocean  as  still,  calm,  and 
greasy-looking  as  a  stagnant  pond. 

Only  sailors  can  appreciate  what  a  hard  time 
this  is  for  Jack.  In  a  perfectly  dead  calm,  of 
course,  he  has  nothing  to  do  but  go  about  various 
jobs;  but  when  there  is  an  occasional  gentle 
breath  which  fills  the  sails  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  and  when  this  is  succeeded  by  the  vessel 
being  taken  aback,  in  fact,  when  t!he  calm  is 


256  THE  SHELLBACK. 

interrupted  by  puffs  of  wind  from  every  point  of  the 
compass — a  soldier's  wind — then  it  is  that  Jack's 
trouble  begins.  A  dozen  times  during  a  watch  he 
hears :  "  Lee  fore  brace  !  Sweat  'em  in,  bullies ! " 
and  ten  minutes  afterwards :  "  Weather  main  brace  ! 
Round  in  them  yards  lively,  men!  The  Cork 
girls  have  got  hold  of  the  rope  this  time !  Hurrah ! 
There  she  goes !  Put  your  nose  into  it,  you  old 
hooker ! "  and  other  lively  exclamations  from  the 
boatswain,  which  would  cheer  the  men  up  for  a 
little.  But  this  fair  spell  never  lasted.  The 
inevitable  "  Lee  fore  brace ! "  the  sign  of  the  wind 
heading  us,  would  be  certain  to  come  and  strike  a 
knell  upon  our  hearts.  The  yards  would  be 
sweated  up  till  they  were  jammed  hard  against 
the  lee  shrouds  to  get  what  little  wind  could  be 
got  from  the  right  direction,  and  yet  every  now 
and  then  came  the  order  for  another  pull  on 
"them  lee  braces." 

This  went  on  till  all  hope  of  ever  again  getting 
a  breeze  began  to  die  in  us.  We  thought  we 
should  lie  here  for  ever  and  become  a  "  phantom 
ship,"  with  the  difference  that  that  fabulous  vessel 
had  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  sail  everywhere 
except  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  expression  in  Coleridge's  "  Ancient  Mariner/' 
"The  very  deep  did  rot,"  is  a  very  apt  way  of 


'THE    VEBY    DEEP    DID    ROT.'1 


A  *  PAMPERO"  OFF  THE  PLATE.  257 

describing  the  appearance  of  the  ocean  during  a 
protracted  calm.  It  has  a  greasy,  dirty  look,  like 
soapy  water  or  the  surface  of  a  pond  near  a 
factory.  All  sorts  of  waifs  and  strays  of  wood, 
weed,  and  animals  are  seen  lying  about  the 
surface. 

Occasionally  a  shark  comes  along  and  leaves 
a  long,  greasy-looking  wake  behind  him,  but 
generally  there  is  no  life  visible,  and  the  calm 
has  a  most  depressing  effect.  When  the  calm  came 
upon  us,  or  rather,  I  suppose,  when  we  ran  into  it, 
no  vessel  was  in  sight  from  our  main  royal  yard. 
But  by  the  time  it  had  lasted  a  week  there  must 
have  been  at  least  fifty  vessels  of  all  kinds  in  sight. 
I  suppose  they  drifted  along  with  currents  imper- 
ceptibly. On  one  or  two  occasions  the  smaller 
vessels  put  out  boats  and  towed  the  vessels'  heads 
round  to  prevent  them  from  colliding  with  the 
larger  vessels,  owing  to  the  attraction  of  the  larger 
body  drawing  them  together. 

After  about  a  fortnight  of  this  wretched  work,  a 
sail  was  sighted  astern  of  us,  and  to  our  astonish- 
ment it  grew  every  hour,  showing  that  she  at  least 
was  making  headway.  Perhaps  she  was  bringing  a 
breeze  along  with  her.  We  watched  her  all  the 
morning,  and  about  four  p.m.  she  was  close  enough 
for  us  to  make  her  out.  She  proved  to  be  the 
B 


258  THE  SHELLBACK, 

Young  America,  a  fine  Baltimore  clipper  which 
had  left  Melbourne  three  months  after  we  did,  to 
go  and  load  at  the  Chinch  as.  She  must  have  left 
the  islands  six  weeks  or  two  months  after  us,  and 
yet  here  she  was,  about  to  pass  us. 

It  is  true  that  after  the  hurricane  we  had 
shortened  sail  every  night,  the  captain  saying  he 
anticipated  a  hurricane,  as  the  glass  fell  so  seriously. 
This  was  another  aggravation  of  our  petty  worries. 
We  would  be  rolling  along  on  our  course  at  six  or 
eight  knots  with  a  fine  fair  wind,  and  all  sail  to 
topgallant  studding  sail  set,  when  suddenly  would 
come  the  order,  "  All  hands  shorten  sail ! "  The  ship 
would  be  stripped  to  close-reefed  topsails,  and  there 
we  would  lie  till  daylight,  when  sail  was  again 
made.  Ten  nights  of  this  told  heavily  against  a 
quick  passage.  Whether  the  barometer  actually 
fell  so  low  as  to  warrant  this  extra  carefulness,  or 
whether  it  was  (as  Mr.  Dickens  had  said)  that  the 
captain  was  acting  on  the  principle  of  "More 
days,  more  dollars,"  no  one  will  ever  know,  but  the 
fact  remained  that  no  hurricane  made  its  appear- 
ance, and  vessel  after  vessel  passed  us  during  these 
nights  with  all  sail  set. 

Now  here  was  the  Young  America  adding  to 
our  disgrace.  We  were  certainly  a  slow  ship,  which 
could  barely  reel  off  ten  knots  with  half  a  gale  on 


A  "PAMPERO"  OFF  THE  PLATE.          259 

her  quarter,  but  it  was  very  galling,  nevertheless,  to 
be  so  disgracefully  beaten. 

However,  our  captain  said  he  was  glad  to  see  the 
Young  America  in  such  calm  weather,  as  we  had 
run  short  of  Stockholm  tar,  and  he  hoped  to  get 
some  from  her.  When  she  was  near  enough  to  be 
hailed  our  captain  jumped  on  to  the  wheelhouse, 
and,  after  the  usual  salutation  and  inquiries,  asked 
if  the  captain  could  spare  him  a  barrel  of  tar. 

The  captain  of  the  stranger,  a  dapper,  wiry- 
looking  little  fellow,  stood  up  on  the  rail  holding 
on  by  the  backstay,  and  said: 

"Tar?  Waal,  no!  I  reckon  I  can't  let  you 
have  no  tar,  but  I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do.  I'll 
let  you  have  a  few  bar'ls  of  flour  and  a  bag  or 
two  of  bread.  I  guess  you'll  want  some  before  that 
water-logged  old '  timber  drogher  of  yourn  gits 
home ! "  The  Young  America's  crew  burst  into  a 
roar  of  laughter.  The  rage  of  Captain  Barton  can 
be  imagined.  The  interview  abruptly  closed.  The 
Yankee  dipped  his  flag,  and  I  ran  aft  to  bend  on 
our  ensign  and  return  the  salute  when  I  got  a 
swinging  box  on  the  ear  which  sent  me  sprawling. 

"  Let  that  flag  alone,,  b you ! "  said  my  irate 

chief.  He  was  in  no  humour  to  be  polite. 

The  Yankee,  after  dodging  about  us  for  a  little 
while,  stood  his  course,  dipping  his  colours  again 


260  THE  SHELLBACK. 

and  again  in  derision.  Before  night  he  was  out 
of  sight.  At  last  we  got  the  S.E.  trades,  and 
made  some  (for  us)  good  runs.  There  being  now 
little  to  do  in  attending  to  the  sails,  the  captain 
decided  to  have  white  decks  again.  They  had 
been  stained  brown  at  the  islands  to  make  the 
dirt  less  conspicuous.  Every  morning  the  holy- 
stones were  in  requisition,  and  the  decks  were 
ground  down  until  in  some  places  the  bolt-heads 
were  exposed.  The  staining  had  sunk  in  deeply, 
and  to  get  it  out  the  wood  was  scrubbed  away  by 
the  bucketful.  These  operations  continued  till  not 
a  speck  of  stain  was  to  be  seen. 

One  day  the  captain  took  it  into  his  head  to 
believe  that  the  vanes  at  the  mastheads  did  not 
work  properly,  and  that  they  must  want  greasing. 

It  happened  to  be  my  watch  on  deck.  He 
called  me  over  and  asked: 

"Boy,  can  you  go  up  and  bring  those  vanes 
down?" 

I  looked  at  the  beautiful  tapering  poles  rising 
ten  or  fifteen  feet  above  the  eyes  of  the  royal 
rigging,  and  hesitated.  It  was  my  first  voyage  at 
sea,  and  although  I  was  like  a  cat  among  the 
rigging  and  felt  no  fear  (when  I  had  a  rope  handy 
to  get  a  grip  of)  in  the  wildest  night  I  ever  saw, 
yet  when  it  came  to  climbing  a  smooth  pole  at  a 


A  "PAMPERO"  OFF  THE  PLATE.  261 

height  of  two  hundred  and  odd  feet  from  the 
deck,  with  the  ship  pitching  in  a  rather  lively 
manner,  I  had  some  natural  misgiving. 

He  saw  I  hesitated,  so  went  on: 

"  Oh,  well !  if  you're  afraid  I'll  send  up  a  boy 
with  more  pluck." 

This  decided  me.  I  would  not  let  any  man  or 
boy  on  board  think  I  was  afraid,  so  I  said : 

"  Afraid,  sir !  I'm  not  afraid  of  going  up  there. 
I  was  only  thinking  how  I  should  bring  them 
down." 

"Why,  that's  easy  enough,"  he  said.  "When 
you've  lifted  the  vane  out,  slip  down  to  the  royal 
yard  and  bend  it  on  to  the  signal  halliards,  and 
you  can  send  it  down." 

So  up  I  went.  When  I  reached  the  royal  yard, 
which  was  hoisted,  I  looked  up  at  the  vane.  The 
bare  pole  seemed  a  tremendous  height,  and  of 
course  there  was  nothing  to  lay  hold  of  but  the 
pole  itself;  it  would  not  do  to  trust  to  the  signal 
halliards,  which  were  rove  through  a  sheave  in  the 
truck.  I  nerved  myself  to  the  task,  gripped  the 
pole,  and  shinned  up.  I  had  already  loosed  the 
knot  of  the  halliards  on  deck,  and  carried  one  end 
up  with  me.  I  now  made  this  end  of  the  halliard 
fast  to  the  vane.  Then,  clinging  by  both  legs,  I 
used  both  hands  to  lift  the  gilt  ball,  which  had  a 


262  THE  SHELLBACK. 

rod  of  iron  about  eighteen  inches  long  attached  to 
it,  and  sunk  into  the  top  of  the  pole.  I  just  had 
strength  to  lift  it  out,  and  then  I  slid  down  into 
the  royal  yard  to  get  breath.  On  looking  up,  to 
my  dismay  I  saw  that  I  had  got  a  turn  of  the 
signal  halliards  round  the  mast,  and  that  I  also 
had  a  turn  round  the  running  part. 

There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  climb  again. 
I  then  had  to  hold  tight  on  to  the  vane,  cast  off 
the  bend,  clear  the  halliards,  and  make  fast  again. 
This  I  did,  and  felt  that  if  my  life  depended  upon 
it  I  could  not  go  up  a  third  time.  The  ship,  as 
I  said,  was  pitching  and  rolling  a  little,  and  there 
was  I,  clinging  only  by  my  legs  like  a  monkey  on 
top  of  a  pole.  It  was  a  ticklish  piece  of  work,  but 
luckily  I  had  it  all  right  this  time,  and  I  lowered 
it  to  the  deck.  I  was  about  to  go  down  when  the 
captain  hailed  me. 

"  Stay  where  you  are,  and  I'll  send  it  up  again." 

I  was  in  despair.  I  knew  I  must  shin  up  that 
wretched  pole  again,  but  should  I  be  able  to  do  it  ? 

The  captain  had  the  iron  rod  cleaned  and  fresh 
greased,  and  then  it  came  swaying  up  to  me  again. 
I  pulled  myself  together,  and  once  more  climbed 
the  pole.  I  never  felt  so  near  falling  in  my  life. 
I  was  not  in  the  least  giddy,  but  the  power  of 
clinging  seemed  to  have  left  my  legs.  Had  the 


A  "PAMPERO"  OPI<  THE  PLATE.          263 

work  lasted  two  minutes  longer,  I  should  certainly 
have  fallen.  I  just  managed  to  cast  off  the  hal- 
liards after  dropping  the  vane  into  its  place,  then 
I  put  the  end  of  the  halliards  in  iny  teeth  and 
reached  the  royal  yard  in  safety.  But  there  were 
two  more  vanes,  the  mizzen  and  the  fore,  to  be 
brought  down.  To  my  great  delight,  I  had  only 
reached  the  top  on  my  way  down  when  I  saw 
Johnston  and  Sharpe  going  up.  I  have  never  agnin 
been  sent  up  for  a  vane  at  sea.  It  is  an  experience 
one.  would  not  care  to  have  often. 


264 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE    YANKEE    MATE. 

I  HAVE  not  as  yet  said  much  about  our  chief  mate. 
He  carried  on  the  duty  in  the  same  brutal  way 
all  the  way  home.  Whilst  we  were  in  the  cold 
weather  I  never  once  saw  him  with  an  overcoat. 
He  crawled  about  in  indiarubber  boots,  and  his  only 
outer  dress  was  an  alpaca  coat.  Mittens  he  never 
wore.  The  man  seemed  quite  insensible  to  cold  or 
heat.  He  did  not  retain  his  original  dislike  to  the 
"captain's  pet  monkeys,"  Barney  and  me.  On  the 
contrary,  he  took  rather  a  liking  to  us,  and  rarely 
interfered  with  us.  When  it  was  our  watch  on 
deck,  if  it  were  a  fine  night,  he  would  call  one  of 
us  over  to  the  weather  side  and  walk  up  and 
down,  telling  us  yarns  about  slavery  in  the  Southern 
States  and  about  slave  ships.  From  what  he  said, 
I  rather  think  he  must  at  one  time  have  been  en- 
gaged in  the  slave  trade,  and  learnt  his  cruelties 
on  board  those  ships.  Some  of  his  stories,  if  true, 
showed  that  he  was  a  good  seaman.  On  one  occa- 
sion he  was  in  a  ship  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  off 
Lagos.  They  were  caught  in  a  tremendous  gale. 


IHE   YANKEE  MATE.  265 

The  captain  got  drunk,  and  the  ship  was  driving 
fast  on  to  a  lee  shore.  He  determined  to  club-haul 
the  ship,  having  seen  it  done  once.  It  was  the 
only  chance  to  save  her.  The  ship  was  at  the 
time  under  a  close-reefed  main  topsail  only.  There 
were  twenty  fathoms  of  water  and  it  was  slowly 
shoaling.  The  close-reefed  fore  topsail  was  set, 
together  with  the  close-reefed  foresail,  jib,  outer 
jib,  and  main  topmast  staysail.  The  head  sails 
were  thrown  aback,  wheel  reversed,  and  the  vessel 
began  to  get  stern  way.  The  anchor  was  let  go, 
and  as  soon  as  she  began  to  pay  off  the  anchor 
was  slipped  at  the  fifth  shackle.  Slowly  she  came 
round,  the  head  sails  filled.  Then  the  close-reefed 
mainsail  was  set,  and  she  weathered  the  point 
they  expected  to  have  left  their  bones  on. 

One  night  he  happened  to  talk  about  the  cap- 
tain, and,  referring  to  his  size,  he  said: 

"  Ef  I  had  him  down  south,  I  could  paint  him 
black  and  sell  him  for  a  buck  nigger  for  a  thou- 
sand dollars." 

He  was  not  talking  in  a  low  voice,  and  the 
cabin  skylight  was  opea  Directly  afterwards  the 
captain  came  on  deck  He  had  already  had  one 
or  two  disagreements  with  the  mate,  and  he  now 
found  fault  with  the  set  of  the  sails  and  the  trim 
of  the  yards.  He  asked  the  mate  if  he  knew  he 


266  THE  SHELLBACK. 

was  off  his  course,  and  generally  let  him  know 
that  he  was  not  satisfied  with  him. 

Next  day  one  of  the  seamen  brushed  past  the 
carpenter,  who  was  making  a  new  grating  for  the 
wheel-house.  The  latter  jumped  up  and  gave  the 
man  a  tremendous  blow  in  the  face.  The  mate 
immediately  went  up  to  him  and  said : 

"Here,  Chips;  I  shipped  to  do  the  fighting 
aboard  here,  so  you  keep  your  hands  off  the  men." 

The  carpenter  gave  him  some  surly  answer,  on 
which  the  mate  rushed  at  him,  but  tripped  over 
the  man  on  the  deck.  His  wrath  immediately 
vented  itself  on  the  helpless  seaman,  whose  face 
was  soon  pounded  to  a  swelled  mass  of  flesh  stream- 
ing with  blood. 

One  afternoon,  just  after  eight  bells,  three  of 
the  men  came  aft  with  a  kid  of  beef.  The  captain 
looked  at  them  and  asked  them  what  they  wanted. 
The  spokesman  asked  him  to  look  at  that  muck, 
and  smell  it  and  see  if  it  was  fit  for  Christians 
to  eat. 

"  Hand  it  over  here,"  said  Captain  Barton. 

The  man  handed  him  the  kid.  He  smelt  the 
beef  and  said  it  was  quite  sweet. 

"Here,"  he  said,  "smell  it  yourself." 

The  man  approached  and  put  his  nose  to  the 
kid,  when  suddenly  the  captain  knocked  him  down, 


THE  YANKEE  MATE.  267 

jammed  the  beef  kid  into  his  face,  rubbed  the 
beef  into  him,  and  kicked  him  in  the  ribs,  the 
mate  assisting  the  other  two  forward  by  a  few 
hearty  kicks. 

"Fit  for  Christians!"  roared  the  captain.  "No, 

but  it's  too  good  for  idle  hounds  like  you. 

You're  a  nice  dainty  lot.  Perhaps  you'd  like  soft 
tack  and  roast  turkey?  I'll  bring  you  to  your 
bearings.  I'll  stop  your  meat  for  a  week.  I'll  take 
my  oath  you'll  be  glad  to  gnaw  the  bones  by 
that  time.  Get  forward,  you  hound.  And  just 
you  try  coming  aft  on  that  errand  again,  that's 
all ! " 

The  unfortunate  man  went  forward,  and  of  course 
no  redress  was  obtained.  Captain  Barton  was  a 
singular  compound  of  good  nature  and  cruelty.  We 
never  could  tell  which  quality  would  predominate 
from  one  day  to  the  other.  Witness  his  telling 
me  to  remain  in  comfort  in  his  cabin  whilst  my 
watch  was  up  aloft  furling  and  reefing,  and  after- 
wards coming  below  and  damning  me  for  a  lazy 
scowbanker. 

In  ordinary  weather,  and  especially  when  we 
were  on  a  wind,  he  used  to  send  us  boys  to  the 
wheel  His  main  injunction,  when  the  ship  was 
closehauled,  was  to  watch  the  weather  leech  of 
the  main  topsail. 


268  THE  SHELLBACK. 

"  If  it  shivers,"  he  used  to  say,  "  let  her  fall  off 
a  little,  but  luff  at  once  afterwards/' 

We  used  to  watch  that  leech  with  intense  anxiety, 
and  when  it  shook,  round  would  go  the  wheel  till 
we  had  her  a  couple  of  points  off,  and  the  mate 
would  come  aft  to  see  if  there  had  been  a  shift 
of  wind.  Usually  the  old  man  stood  by  us  and 
kept  on  saying: 

"Luff,  boy,  luff!  Mind  your  luff!  Where  the 

are  you  going  to  ? " 

Then  we  luffed  and  luffed  till  every  sail  began 
to  shiver  and  slat  against  the  mast.  Then  would 
follow  a  volley  from  the  captain.  But  on  one  oc- 
casion the  volley  was  too  late.  I  luffed  until  I  had 
the  sails  all  aback.  I  did  not  know  at  the  time 
whether  I  was  to  be  flogged,  hove  overboard  and 
keel-hauled,  or  what ;  but  the  rage  of  the  captain 
was  so  terrible  that  it  had  the  effect  of  giving  me 
an  inclination  to  engage  him  still  more. 

"  D'ye  see  what  you've  done,  you  infernal  young 
devil  ?"  he  yelled. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  I  replied ;  "  that  comes  of  obeying  your 
orders.  You  said  '  Luff/  and  I  said,  '  Luff  it  is,  sir/ 
You  kept  on  telling  me  to  keep  her  up,  and 
I  kept  her  up.  She's  up  now.  It's  your  fault,  not 
mine/' 

I  thought  he  would  have  knocked  me  down,  but 


THE  YANKEE  MATE.  269 

lie  gave  the  necessary  orders  and  got  the  ship  on  the 
port  tack  again. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Impudence,"  he  resumed,  "  you Ve 

got  to  put  the  ship  about,  but  by ,  if  she  gets  in 

irons  or  misses  stays,  look  out  for  yourself.  Banks, 
take  the  wheeL" 

The  wind  was  fairly  light,  and,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  this  putting  her  about  was  merely  a  practice  for 
us  apprentices.  •  Nothing  could  well  go  wrong,  even 
if  we  did  miss  the  critical  moment  to  haul  round 
the  topsail  yard.  Still,  I  was  in  great  trepidation, 
although  I  had  put  the  ship  about  once  or  twice 
before. 

"Now  boy,  go  on/1  the  captain  cried.  "'Bout 
ship." 

I  knew  all  the  words  of  command  perfectly,  so 
I  yelled  out : 

"  Ready  about !     Stations ! " 

The  men  all  flew  to  their  stations.  I  ordered 
Banks  to  put  the  helm  down.  As  soon  as  I  saw  that 
done  I  shouted :  "  Helm's  a  lee  ! " 

The  mate  forward  repeated,  "  Helm's  a  lee  !  Let 
go  the  head-sheets." 

Then  came  from  me,  "Tacks  and  sheets."  The  clews 
of  the  courses  are  hauled  up,  and  everything  is  ready 
for  a  swing  round.  Now  was  the  critical  moment, 
upon  which  depended  the  coming  round  of  the  ship 


270  THE  SHELLBACK. 

successfully.  Whenever  the  captain  put  her  about 
he  always  told  us  to  watch  carefully  the  first  quiver 
of  the  main  topsail,  and  to  haul  at  that  moment.  I 
thought  the  weather  leech  would  never  lift,  but  at 
last  I  saw  a  decided  shiver. 

"  Main  topsail  haul,"  I  shouted.  Round  came 
the  yards  with  'a  rush,  the  lee  braces  having  been 
let  go,  and  the  weather  braces  rounded  in  as 
the  swinging  of  the  yards  slacked  it  up.  I  now 
had  to  attend  to  the  after  sail 

"Brace  up  the  crossjack  yard!  Belay!  Ease 
over  the  spanker  boom!  Well,  the  boom.  Haul 
aft  the  main  sheet.  Stand  by  the  head  yards ! " 

Now  all  hands  stand  by  the  head  braces.  I 
was  not  quite  sure  of  the  time  to  let  go,  so  I  looked 
at  the  old  man. 

"  Hurry  up,  you young  fool ! '  he  said  softly, 

"  Do  you  want  to  get  the  ship  in  irons  ? 

"  Let  go  and  haul,"  I  shouted. 

The  head  yards  are  swung  round,  and  I  am  saved. 
The  mate  now  looks  after  the  proper  trimming  of  the 
yards. 

"Round  in  their  braces;  smart,  men!  Well,  the 
fore  yard — well,  the  fore  topsail  yard,"  and  so  on,  till 
he  at  last  sings  out: 

"  Well  of  all !    Get  this  gear  cleared  up." 

Then  the  main  and  fore  tacks  are  boarded.     I 


THE  YANKEE  MATE.  271 

train  the  after  yards  under  the  captain's  instructions, 
and  the  third  mate  orders  the  men  to  clear  up  the 
decks  and  coil  up  the  running  gear. 

My  turn  of  putting  the  ship  about  has  come  off 
successfully,  but  it  is  a  very  delicate  operation,  either 
in  a  light  wind  or  a  heavy  blow.  We  boys  were  only 
allowed  to  do  it  with  an  ordinary  breeze,  and  always 
in  the  captain's  presence.  It  was  splendid  practice, 
and  we  enjoyed  it  greatly. 

Whilst  we  were  running  along,  or  rather  dodging 
along,  north  of  the  N.E.  trades,  the  mate  had  a  small 
staging  rigged  on  the  martingale  under  the  bowsprit, 
on  which  he  used  to  stand  to  harpoon  porpoise  or 
dolphin.  To  reach  the  staging  safely,  he  had  passed 
a  life-line  of  ratline  stuff  from  the  head  to  the  mar- 
tingale. One  day  he  got  over  the  bows  with  his 
harpoon  and  started  out  to  the  staging.  The  ship 
was  going  along  about  four  knots,  and  there  was 
very  little  swell.  He  got  halfway  out,  when  he 
stopped  and  came  back.  Parser,  Murray,  and  two 
or  three  men  besides  the  boys  were  on  the  forecastle 
as  he  came  in. 

"Reckon  you  hounds  meant  to  put  me  in  the 
drink,  didn't  you  ? "  he  said. 

Of  course  the  men  protested  they  know  nothing 
about  it.  But  the  mate  knocked  them  both  down, 
and  as  usual  jumped  on  their  bodies  and  battered 


272  THE  SHELLBACK. 

their  faces.  He  then  went  aft.  We  asked  him  what 
was  the  matter,  and  he  told  us  to  go  and  see.  So  I 
went  forward,  got  over  the  bows,  and  moved  out 
on  the  bowsprit  guys  towards  the  martingale.  I 
noticed  then  that  the  life-line  was  cut  through, 
so  that  only  half  a  strand  remained  intact.  Had 
the  ship  lurched  and  had  the  mate  trusted  to  that 
line,  he  would  infallibly  have  gone  overboard,  when  a 
kind-hearted  shark  might  have  relieved  us  of  him 
for  ever.  But  he  was  too  wide  awake  for  the  men, 
and  seemed  to  bear  a  charmed  life.  Two  attempts 
had  failed. 

Shortly  afterwards  a  third  attack  was  made.  He 
and  I  were,  as  usual,  walking  the  weather  side  of  the 
quarter-deck  one  night.  Some  work  was  going  on  in 
the  main  top — getting  a  topmast  studding  sail  out,  I 
think,  and  the  mate  walked  close  under  the  top.  He 
had  stood  there  about  a  minute  when  a  sheath-knife 
came  down  from  aloft.  It  was  well  aimed,  for  it  fell 
between  us,  near  his  feet,  and  buried  its  point  deep 
in  the  deck. 

Mr.  Bray  stooped  and  picked  it  up.  He  carried  it 
aft  to  the  binnacle  light  and  examined  it  all  over. 
No  mark  denoting  ownership  could  be  found  on  it. 
He  threw  it  overboard  and  remarked: 

"  That  warn't  meant  for  you,  boy." 

"  No,  sir,"  I  said ;  "  it  was  you  they  wanted." 


THR  YANKEE  MATE.  273 

"  Yaas,"  he  drawled.  "  Them  men's  laying  down 
now  from  aloft.  Call  the  watch  aft." 

So  I  told  the  third  mate  the  men  were  to  lay 
aft.  As  the  watch  reached  the  deck  they  came  aft. 

"  Naow,"  said  the  mate,  with  a  wicked  smile,  "  I 
want  to  see  all  yer  knives ! " 

He  went  along  the  line,  and  every  man  showed 
his  sheath-knife. 

One  man  said : 

"What  the  h— 1  does  this  mean  ? " 

The  mate  heard  him  and  went  for  him  at  once, 
and  the  usual  booting  and  face-beating  took  place. 

Then  he  said :  "  I  see  you've  all  got  yer  knives, 
and  you  see  I've  taken  my  satisfaction  out  of  one  of 
yer.  I  ain't  dead  by  a  long  chalk  yet,  and  you're  not 
in  New  York  yet,  and  don't  forget  it !  Go  forward." 

I  heard  afterwards  that  the  man  who  dropped  the 
knife,  and  who  attempted  his  life  on  the  two  previous 
occasions,  was  the  Spaniard.  He  was  cunning  enough 
to  have  a  second  knife  with  him  in  the  top,  fearing 
the  search  which  actually  took  place;  and  thus  he 
escaped  detection. 

After  this  I  never  felt  comfortable  when  walking 
with  the  mate. 

We  now  began  tarring  down.  This  is  a  very  dirty 
but  very  necessary  operation,  both  for  the  preserva- 
tion and  appearance  of  the  rigging.  All  day  long 


274  THE  SHELLBACK. 

men  and  boys  were  hard  at  work  scraping  masts  and 
booms  and  riding  down  the  stays  with  tar-pots  slung 
round  their  necks  and  a  wad  of  oakum  in  their 
hands,  with  which  the  tar  was  rubbed  into  the  stand- 
ing rigging.  Riding  down  a  stay  for  the  first  time  is 
not  a  pleasant  experience.  A  line  is  passed  through 
a  block  at  the  head  of  the  stay,  usually  the  staysail 
halliards.  The  end  is  made  fast  to  a  bowline  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  stay.  The  seaman  seats  himself  in 
the  bowline,  which  travels  on  the  stay,  and  gives  the 
word  to  those  on  deck  to  lower  away  gently.  As  he 
tars  the  stay  he  is  lowered  foot  by  foot,  and  thus 
swings  in  midair  between  the  masts.  Should  the 
stay  part,  the  man  would  probably  not  go  overboard 
but  would  be  dashed  with  violence  against  the  mast 
and  thus  be  killed  or  severely  hurt.  I  have  related 
how  one  man  went  overboard  when  a  stay  parted,  but 
he  was  not  seated  in  a  bowline  or  in  a  boatswain's 
chair,  and  so  was  free  to  fly  to  leeward. 

Poor  Johnston  had  just  ridden  down  the  fore  top- 
mast stay,  and  had,  as  he  thought,  made  his  bowline 
secure  to  the  fore  topgallant  stay  to  be  run  up  again. 
Unfortunately,  another  bowline  was  then  not  fastened 
to  the  stay,  but  to  this  he  bent  the  end  of  his  halliard. 
He  put  his  legs  through  it,  preparatory  to  sitting 
down,  and  gave  the  word  to  "  Hoist  away." 

The  men  attending  him  gave  a  swift  hoist  and 


THE   YANKEE  MATE.  275 

lifted  him  off  his  feet  off  the  bowsprit;  but,  the  bow- 
line not  being  seciired,  he  came  inboard  with  a  rush. 
His  tar-pot,  a  square  one,  flew  up  to  his  face,  and  he 
was  smashed  against  the  bitts,  the  tar-pot  taking  the 
force  of  the  blow.  The  man  was  hauled  in  senseless, 
and  it  appeared  at  first  sight  as  if  his  cheek  bones 
were  broken  in.  He  was  carried  to  the  'tween  decks 
and  put  in  a  berth.  When  the  tar  which  coated  his 
face  was  removed,  it  was  seen  that  he  was  severely 
cut  by  the  four  edges  of  the  pot,  and  the  bones 
were  somewhat  splintered. 

The  captain  dressed  the  wounds  and  left  him  to 
get  well. 

This  was  a  splendid  opportunity  for  Johnston, 
who  was  a  confirmed  loafer  and  malingerer.  For  a 
few  days  the  captain  sent  him  food  from  the  cabin, 
as  the  man  affirmed  that  he  was  unable  to  move  his 
jaws.  But  after  a  week  an  examination  was  made, 
and,  in  spite  of  his  agonising  cries,  his  mouth  was 
forced  open,  and  under  the  threat  of  a  flogging  he 
confessed  that  he  was  quite  able  to  turn  to. 

I  had  a  very  narrow  escape  also.  I  was  coming 
down  the  mizzen  royal  backstay,  tarring  as  I  went ; 
and  when  I  reached  the  rail  I  had  just  planted  my 
two  feet  on  it,  and  had  let  go  my  hold  of  the  stay, 
when  it  parted  up  aloft.  Had  it  gone  when  I  started 
to  tar  down,  I  should  have  been  killed  to  a  certainty. 


276  THE  SHELLBACK. 

It  used  to  be  a  common  practice  of  ours  to  come 
down  from  aloft  by  slipping  down  the  backstays 
instead  of  crawling  down  the  ratlines,  and  over  the 
top  down  the  futtock  shrouds;  but  after  this  we 
preferred  the  slower  and  safer  way,  and  eschewed 
backstays. 

I  have  said  that  we  had  holystoned  the  decks  till 
they  were  spotlessly  white.  When  the  tarring  down 
business  began,  the  mate  warned  all  hands  that  he 
would  have  no  drops  of  tar  fall  from  aloft.  Now  it  is 
impossible  to  dip  one's  hand  into  a  full  tar-pot  and 
not  to  let  some  drops  fall,  however  careful  one  may 
be;  and  it  would  have  been  easy  for  the  mate  to 
order  some  old  canvas  to  be  laid  down  on  the  deck 
to  preserve  its  spotlessness.  But  he  wanted  to  have 
an  excuse  to  thrash  somebody.  One  man,  a  loutish 
fellow  named  Scottie,  was  his  particular  aversion,  and 
on  him  he  kept  his  eye.  It  was  not  long  before  poor 
Scottie  let  fall  half  a  dozen  splashes  of  tar  on  the 
deck.  The  mate  said  nothing,  but  waited  till  the 
man  came  down  to  replenish  his  tar-pot.  Then  he 
seized  him,  dragged  him  over  to  the  tar-spots,  threw 
him  on  the  deck  and  rubbed  his  nose  in  it;  then 
lifted  his  head  by  the  ears,  and  battered  his  face 
savagely  on  the  deck.  The  wretched  man  was 
almost  insensible  before  the  mate  allowed  him  to 
get  up. 


THE  YANKEE  MATE.  277 

Just  as  we  were  getting  out  of  the  Tropics  the 
captain  ordered  the  boys  to  wake  him  at  five  in 
the  morning.  It  was  good  for  boys,  he  said,  to  have 
a  little  medicine  when  running  from  hot  into  cold 
weather,  and  he  would  give  us  a  good  black  draught 
next  day.  Of  course  we  did  not  like  the  idea,  but 
We  were  obliged  to  obey,  and  accordingly  presented 
ourselves  at  the  captain's  door  at  five  next 
morning. 

He  awoke  directly  we  knocked,  and  called  out : 

"That  you,  boys?  All  right.  Call  the  steward 
and  tell  him  to  bring  the  medicine  in." 

Wilkinson  called  the  steward,  who  turned  out 
grumbling.  Why  the  idle  brute  should  grumble,  I 
could  Hot  see.  His  work  was  done  at  latest  at  eight 
p.m.,  and  he  had  all  night  in  every  night,  whilst 
we  had  our  watches  to  keep,  no  matter  what  the 
weather  was,  and  on  this  particular  morning  two 
of  us  had  been  bundled  out  of  bed  just  one  hour 
after  coming  off  the  middle  watch,  and  all  because 
the  captain  wanted  to  try  his  hand  at  amateur 
doctoring. 

As  soon  as  the  steward  was  out,  he  brought  in 
a  tray  with  two  black  bottles  unlabelled  and  four 
tumblers.  The  captain  appeared  in  his  pyjamas, 
and  gave  us  a  dissertation  on  keeping  the  blood 
in  a  healthy  condition.  Black  draught,  he  said, 


278  THE  SHELLBACK. 

was  the  best  and  easiest  medicine  to  take.  So 
saying,  he  uncorked  the  bottles  and  poured  out 
four  tumblers  of  what  looked  very  unlike  black 
draught  It  was  bright  and  sparkling,  and  had  a 
creamy  foam  on  it. 

"Why,"  whispered  Barney,  "111  be  shot  if  it 
isn't  bottled  ale,  boys!" 

I  suggested  the  possibility  of  the  medicine 
being  disguised  in  it. 

"Now,  lads,"  cried  the  captain,  "down  with  it 
— and  no  wry  faces ! " 

We  each  took  our  tumbler  and  found  he  had 
given  us  some  first-class  bottled  ale.  This  was 
grand  medicine,  and  a  well -pleased  smile  stole 
over  our  faces.  He  made  us  finish  the  two  bottles, 
and  ordered  us  to  present  ourselves  again  at  the 
same  hour  next  morning. 

It  may  be  imagined  that  we  were  punctual  to 
the  appointment.  Again  two  bottles  and  four 
tumblers  made  their  appearance.  We  winked  at 
each  other,  anticipating  the  pouring  forth  of  the 
inspiriting  beverage.  But  when  the  tumblers  were 
filled  no  amber  liquor  was  there,  but  in  its  place 
a  flat,  turbid,  inky-looking  draught. 

"  Down  with  it ! "  said  the  captain. 

The  wretched  steward  stood  grinning  at  us  in 
delight.  We  poured  down  the  nauseous  stuf£  and 


THE  YANKEE  MATE.  279 

on  the  captain  inviting  us  to  finish  the  bottles 
we  respectfully  declined,  as  we  also  did  a  further 
invitation  to  call  on  him  again  next  day.  We 
assured  him  our  blood  would  require  no  further 
purifying. 


280 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE  LAST  OF  POOH  BARNEY. 

WE  were  now  in  more  frequented  waters.  The 
only  land  we  had  seen  since  leaving  Cape  Horn 
was  the  Islands  of  Tristan  d'Acunha,  Trinidad, 
Fernando  de  Noronha,  Martin  Vas,  the  Cape  Verde 
Islands,  and  Azores.  We  were  now  in  the  track 
of  ships  from  Africa,  the  West  Indies,  the  Medi- 
terranean, and  the  United  States,  and  every  day 
saw  more  vessels  passing  or  overtaking  us.  I  do 
not  remember  that  we  ever  overtook  one  ourselves. 
The  weather  had  become  exceedingly  raw  after 
leaving  the  latitude  of  the  Azores,  and  as  we  got 
farther  to  the  north  it  was  regular  February  weather, 
and  our  warm  clothes  were  again  in  requisition. 
On  the  20th  of  that  month  we  sighted  Cape  Clear 
light,  the  southernmost  point  of  Ireland.  Every- 
thing was  ready  for  letting  go  anchor,  and  we 
kept  a  look-out  for  a  pilot,  but  none  came  off.  We 
were  greatly  disappointed.  Ever  since  leaving  the 
Western  Islands  we  had  had  heavy  easterly  gales, 
and  we  did  not  care  to  run  off  the  coast  again  for 
an  indefinite  period.  We  burnt  blue  lights,  sent 


THE  LAST  OP  POOR  BARNEY.  281 

up  rockets,  and  fired  two  guns,  but  it  was  all  of 
no  use.  The  Corkonians  or  Queenstonians  had 
apparently  gone  to  bed,  so  we  ran  off  the  shore 
and  beat  about  all  night 

Next  morning  a  pilot  came  and  took  us  in  to 
the  harbour,  and  we  dropped  anchor  off  Spike 
Island.  In  a  very  short  space  of  time  the  sails 
were  furled,  and  the  mate  took  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  to  square  the  yards  properly.  He  even 
went  ahead  in  a  boat,  and  kept  us  hauling  at  lifts 
and  braces  till  she  must  have  looked  as  trim  as  a 
warship. 

The  captain  went  ashore  directly  after  dinner, 
and  we  were  set  to  work  to  clean  the  ship.  She 
was  washed  and  scrubbed  inside  and  out,  her  brass- 
work  polished,  her  two  guns  painted  and  brought 
aft  for  show,  and  by  the  afternoon  of  next  day  she 
presented  little  appearance  of  having  been  as  good 
as  eleven  months  out  from  Melbourne. 

The  captain  came  on  board  again  in  the  evening, 
and  said  that  the  Earl  of  Elgin  had  not  yet  been 
heard  of,  so  his  big  bets  and  our  little  ones  were 
won.  But,  Lord !  we  thought,  what  a  tub  she 
must  be  to  let  us  run  away  from  her  like  this ! 
We  had  certainly  never  run  away  from  any  vessel 
on  the  passage  home.  To  see  a  sail  on  the  horizon 
astern,  looking  like  a  bird's  wing  on  the  water, 


282  THE  SHELLBACK. 

was  to  feel  sure  that  before  night  some  vessel  would 
be  passing  us. 

We  remained  at  anchor  here  for  ten  days, 
and  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  our  Elgin  chums 
once  more,  as  the  ship  arrived  two  days  before  we 
sailed.  They  had  had  a  terrible  time  of  it  round 
the  Horn.  The  ship  leaked  badly,  and  the  water 
had  got  amongst  the  guano,  and  it  was  pump  for 
dear  life  every  watch  for  a  couple  of  hours.  At 
last  the  leak  unaccountably  took  up,  and  although 
they  had  to  keep  the  pumps  going  the  whole  voyage, 
more  or  less,  still  they  did  very  well  on  the  whole, 
but  calms  and  headwinds  had  delayed  them  as 
they  had  us.  The  bets  were  all  duly  settled,  and 
we  spent  most  of  the  money  in  a  pleasant  jollifi- 
cation in  our  berth.  No  leave  was  granted  at  this 
port.  I  suppose  the  captain  was  afraid  most  of 
the  men  would  desert — at  any  rate,  those  who  had 
lost  three  months'  wages,  so  I  got  no  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  city. 

But  one  afternoon  the  mate  ordered  us  to  get 
the  boat  ready.  We  soon  had  her  alongside,  and 
as  there  was  a  nice  steady  breeze  we  sailed  past 
Spike  Island  and  landed  at  Queenstown.  The  mate 
left  us,  giving  us  leave  to  go  into  the  town  two  at 
a  time.  We  profited  by  this  permission  to  buy  a 
lot  of  fresh  bread  and  butter,  onions,  cheese,  and 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  283 

bottled  stout,  as  we  were  determined  to  get  some- 
thing better  than  our  usual  fare  now  that  we  were 
in  port. 

When  the  mate  came  down  the  wind  had  in- 
creased very  much,  but  we  pushed  off  and  stood 
out  towards  the  ship.  As  we  got  away  from  the 
land  some  rather  ugly  squalls  struck  us.  The  mate, 
therefore,  decided  to  shorten  sail  before  opening  out 
the  harbour  beyond  the  island,  where  we  should 
probably  find  more  wind  than  we  bargained  for. 

"  Can  you  boys  get  a  couple  of  reefs  in  that 
sail?"  he  asked. 

"We'll  try,  sir,"  said  we. 

Barney  let  go  the  peak  and  throat  halliards, 
but  the  sail  would  not  come  down.  Something 
was  jammed  up  aloft,  and  it  was  necessary  to  climb 
the  mast.  I  was  just  going  up  when  the  mate 
cried  out :  "  Stand  by !  Up  with  the  peak,  quick ! 
Give  a  pull  on  the  throat  halliards !  Sit  low  now, 
boys,  we're  in  for  it" 

We  flew  past  the  island,  and  then  caught  the 
full  force  of  the  wind.  The  boat  lay  down  to  it 
till  the  water  poured  over  the  lee  gunwale.  We 
all  hung  over  to  windward,  expecting  her  to  go 
over  every  minute,  or  to  see  the  mast  carried 
away.  But  nothing  happened.  The  mate  handled 
her  well,  and  we  tore  through  the  water  at  a 


2g4  THE  SHELLBACK. 

tremendous  rate,  and  eventually  reached  the  ship 
drenched  through,  the  boat  nearly  half  full  of 
water.  But  we  had  fairly  well  saved  our  fresh 
bread.  We  had  each  covered  a  loaf  with  our 
monkey  jackets.  The  butter  was  all  right  in  the 
locker,  and  the  stout,  of  course,  could  take  no 
harm.  We  now  had  to  bale  out  the  boat  and 
hoist  her  up,  lay  the  sails  out  to  dry,  and  then 
go  below  and  make  ourselves  comfortable. 

We  soon  changed  our  wet  clothes,  and  then 
got  the  comestibles  spread  out.  We  attacked  the 
j^read  and  butter  and  raw  onions  and  cheese,  and 
drank  stout  till  we  were  satisfied.  How  we  did 
relish  that  supper !  I  am  sure  that  no  soft  tack 
or  porter  has  since  tasted  to  me  as  that  did.  It 
seemed  a  feast  fit  for  a  king.  Imagine  us  sub- 
sisting for  six  months  on  that  Callao  bread,  and 
then  to  get  beautiful  freshly  made  bread  and  sweet 
butter !  Those  who  want  to  know  what  real  luxuries 
these  are  should  make  a  long  voyage  (in  a  whaler, 
for  preference),  and  on  first  arrival  in  port  make 
a  feast  on  bread  and  butter  and  stout.  They  would 
not  turn  up  their  dainty  noses  and  grumble, 
"  Nothing  but  bread  and  butter  for  tea,"  but  would 
eat,  and  bless  the  kind  Providence  that  provided 
such  luxurious  delicacies. 

By  the  bye,  I  must  not  forget  to  state  what  I 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  285 

did  with  the  bag  of  biscuits  which  accompanied  me 
in  my  fall  overboard  at  Callao.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  I  was  condemned  to  eat  them  all.  They 
were  saturated  with  salt  water  and  swelled  to  the 
size  of  a  soup  plate.  Every  time  I  passed  the  drying- 
ground  I  picked  up  half  a  dozen  and  threw  them 
overboard,  and  as  I  often  had  access  to  the  bread- 
locker  afterwards,  I  secreted  numbers  of  them  in 
my  shirt  and  fed  the  fishes  with  them;  so  it  was 
not  long  before  the  whole  bagful  was  disposed  of. 

After  lying  ten  days  in  Cork  harbour,  we  got 
orders  to  go  to  Leith,  and  took  a  pilot  to  carry  us 
there.  The  weather  was  abominable.  It  blew  in 
heavy  squalls,  and  showers  of  sleet  flew  over  us. 
The  sky,  when  it  could  be  seen,  was  of  a  leaden 
hue,  and  the  sea  looked  green  and  angry.  All 
night  it  was  almost  impossible  to  see  a  hundred 
yards  ahead,  but  the  pilot  could  grope  his  way 
with  the  lead  through  the  blackest  night,  and  we 
drove  along  bravely,  our  only  fear  being  collision 
with  some  other  vessel.  At  first,  the  captain 
thought  of  avoiding  the  English  Channel  and  of 
passing  to  the  North  by  way  of  St.  George's 
Channel  and  the  Irish  Sea;  then,  passing  to  the 
northward  of  the  Orkney  Islands,  we  should  have 
possibly  made  a  shorter  passage  and  should  have  es- 
caped the  risk  of  collision  with  one  of  the  hundreds 


286  THE  SHELLBACK. 

of  vessels  which  crossed  the  Channel.  But  the 
pilot  dissuaded  him  from  this  course,  consider- 
ing it  the  more  dangerous  route.  So  we  ran  to 
the  Land's  End,  and  here  it  was  that  I  lost  my 
much-loved  little  shipmate,  Barney  Banks. 

The  weather  had  so  moderated  during  the  after- 
noon that  we  had  been  carrying  the  main-royal 
At  two  bells  (nine  p.m.)  it  began  to  breeze  up  again, 
and  the  order  was  given  to  clew  up  the  sail. 
Barney  and  I  ran  aloft  to  furl  it.  The  night  was 
very  dark,  so  dark  in  fact  that  when  I  was  on  the 
weather  yard  arm  I  could  not  see  Barney  on  the  lee 
side  It  was  desperately  cold  up  there,  and  I  sang 
out  to  him  to  light  up  to  windward.  I  got  no 
answer,  and  the  sail  continued  to  thrash  about.  I 
shouted  to  him  again,  but  finding  he  did  not  reply, 
I  slipped  round  the  mast  and  then  found  he  was 
not  there.  Worse  still,  the  gasket  had  been  cast 
adrift  from  the  tie  and  was  blowing  out  to  leeward. 
I  had  to  get  out  to  the  extreme  lee  yard  arm  to 
get  hold  of  it.  I  thought  Barney  had  played  me 
a  trick,  so  I  furled  the  sail  by  myself  with  some 
trouble,  and  then  slipped  down  the  backstay  (for- 
getful of  resolutions)  to  the  deck.  Here  I  found 
everyone  in  a  state  of  great  excitement,  the  captain, 
pilot,  and  officers  standing  in  a  group  in  the 
centre  of  the  men.  I  pushed  through  them  and 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  287 

found  my  poor  little  mate  lying  on  the  deck  in  a 
pool  of  blood,  calling  upon  God  and  the  Blessed 
Virgin  to  help  him.  The  poor  boy  was  conscious 
and  able  to  explain.  He  got  hold  of  my  hand  and 
said,  "  Oh,  Riley,  Riley !  You'll  be  alone  now.  Did 
you  get  that  gasket  ?  I  got  on  the  yard  and  used 
both  hands  to  loose  the  gasket,  when  the  sail 
bellied  over  me  and  knocked  me  over.  Oh,  Mother 
of  Mercy!  I'm  done  for." 

He  was  evidently  in  terrible  pain.  Had  he 
fallen  straight  on  deck  from  that  awful  height,  he 
would  have  been  killed  outright,  and  this  would 
have  saved  him  some  hours  of  awful  agony.  But 
in  falling  he  came  feet  foremost  on  to  the  sheer- 
pole  of  the  main  rigging,  and  was  actually  split  in 
two.  The  boatswain  was  close  to  the  spot  where 
he  fell,  and  seizing  a  lantern  he  went  to  him. 

So  natural  was  the  lad's  position  that  the  boat- 
swain, when  lifting  him  off,  said: 

"Hurrah,  sonny!  You're  all  right.  The  rigging 
saved  you ! " 

But  when  he  was  laid  on  the  deck  the  awful 
nature  of  his  injury  made  it  clear  that  there 
could  be  no  hope  of  his  surviving  it.  He  was  laid 
on  a  mattress,  and  everything  was  done  to  make 
him  as  easy  as  was  possible  in  the  terrible  cir- 
cumstances. The  captain  and  mate  cursed  a 


288  THE  SHELLBACK. 

little  about  the  white  decks  being  spoilt  with  the 
blood,  and  then  walked  away.  We  were  now  off 
Penzance.  Next  morning  it  was  blowing  rather 
heavily,  but  one  or  two  of  those  wonderful  Cornish 
boatmen  came  out  to  us.  As  they  ran  close  to  us 
and  kept  within  hailing  distance,  the  captain  asked 
them  if  they  would  take  Barney  ashore.  They 
agreed,  but  drove  a  very  hard  bargain.  I  believe 
it  was  £20  the  captain  said  he  had  to  agree  to  pay 
them  before  they  would  consent  to  receive  him. 

So  poor  Barney  was  got  on  to  a  roughly  made 
stretcher  ready  for  transhipping.  But  the  difficulty 
was  to  lower  a  boat  in  the  heavy  sea  which  was 
running,  and  afterwards  to  lower  the  stretcher 
gently  into  it. 

By  dint  of  great  care  the  boat  was  lowered  with 
poor  Barney  in  it.  We  all  said  good-bye  to  our 
shipmate,  and  knew  we  should  never  see  him  again 
in  this  world.  The  coble  was  hove  to  close  by,  but 
was  playing  such  extraordinary  pranks  that  I  did 
not  see  how  the  men  could  possibly  get  the  stretcher 
on  board.  At  one  moment  she  seemed  to  stand  on 
her  nose,  and  the  next  instant  the  position  was 
reversed.  Then  she  would  balance  herself  on  the 
top  of  a  great  sea,  when  we  could  see  all  her  keel 
except  the  midship  part.  Next  she  would  swoop 
down,  bows  first,  into  the  swirling  valley  beneath 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  289 

her  and  roll  over  till  she  was  buried  above  the 
combing  of  her  hatchway.  The  work  of  tran- 
shipping was,  however,  most  skilfully  performed. 

Whilst  the  coble  was  frantically  reeling  about, 
and  while  our  boat  was  emulating  her,  a  big 
burly  man,  swathed  in  a  vast  mass  of  jerseys, 
mufflers,  and  woollen  stockings,  leaned  against  the 
mast,  calmly  smoking  his  pipe,  without  his  equi- 
librium being  disturbed  for  a  moment.  He  seemed 
to  take  no  interest  in  the  proceedings,  but  just  as 
the  two  boats  rolled  towards  each  other,  he  and 
one  of  his  men  stepped  gently  into  ours.  Then 
one  took  the  head  and  the  other  the  foot  of  the 
stretcher,  our  men  meanwhile  having  all  their 
work  to  fend  off.  Two  other  men  on  board  the 
coble  stood  ready  to  receive  the  stretcher,  and  it 
was  transferred  to  the  deck  with  scarcely  a  shake. 
The  coble  then  stood  in  for  the  land.  We  got  our 
boat  hoisted  up,  the  mainyard  swung  round,  and 
we  kept  away  on  our  course.  We  heard  later  that 
poor  Barney  died  on  reaching  the  hospital  After 
this,  my  watches  were  very  lonely.  The  sprightly 
little  Irish  lad  helped  to  while  away  many  a  tedious 
hour  during  our  night-watches,  and  he  was  liked 
by  all  the  ship's  company  for  his  good-nature  and 
generosity. 

One    of   the    other  boys   was  now    put  in  my 


290  THE  SHELLBACK. 

watch,  and  an  ordinary  seaman  filled  his  place  in 
the  starboard  watch.  As  we  were  going  up 
Channel,  the  weather  seemed  to  get  worse,  and 
we  were  in  constant  dread  of  running .  into  some 
vessel.  Off  Shields  we  got  a  fair  wind  on  the 
starboard  beam,  and  were  going  through  the  water 
very  fust,  when  we  noticed  a  collier  brig,  which 
was  beating  down,  coming  right  across  our  bows. 
We  were  going  too  fast  to  allow  her  to  do  this 
with  safety,  but  as  we  were  going  free,  and  she  was 
jammed  on  a  wind,  it  was  clearly  our  duty  to  give 
way  to  her.  The  master  of  the  brig  jumped  on  to 
the  rail  and  yelled  at  us,  making  frantic  gestures, 
but  of  course  we  could  not  hear  what  he  said. 
The  rule  of  the  road  at  sea  is  so  clearly  laid  down 
that  our  holding  on  in  this  case  was  a  deliberately 
wrongful  act  on  the  part  of  our  captain.  The 
vessel  was  close-hauled,  and  we  were  going  free,  as 
I  said,  and  it  was  plainly  to  be  seen  that  her 
bearing  was  not  rapidly  altering,  so  that  it  was 
our  duty  to  alter  our  course.  But  we  kept  steadily 
on,  and  just  as  steadily  on  came  the  brig.  Her 
master  showed  no  hesitation,  so  we  had  no  excuse 
to  say  that  he  was  yawing,  or  steering  wildly,  thus 
leaving  us  in  doubt  of  his  intention. 

Our  boatswain  ran  forward  and  shouted  out: 
"  It's  all  up  with  her,  sir !    We're  atop  of  her ! " 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  291 

Suddenly,  when  a  collision  seemed  inevitable, 
the  brig's  yards  swung  round,  and  she  filled  on 
the  other  tack  So  close  was  the  shave  that  the 
two  jibbooins  seemed  actually  to  touch  each  other. 
The  affair  was  duly  entered  in  the  log-book,  and 
no  more  was  said  about  it.* 

As  we  approached  the  Frith  of  Forth,  the  wind 
changed,  and  at  the  same  time  increased  in  vio- 
lence. We  were  close-reefed,  and  were  being  driven 
away  northwards  between  the  coast  of  Scotland 
and  the  Dogger  Bank.  The  weather  continued 
thick,  and  we  had  an  anxious  time  of  it  for  over 
a  week,  before  we  finally  entered  the  frith,  and 
dropped  anchor  to  await  the  arrival  of  a  tug-boat. 

Ever  since  the  pilot  came  on  board  there  had 
arisen  a  great  coolness  between  the  captain  and 
mate.  The  former  lost  no  opportunity  of  abusing 
the  latter  before  the  men  countermanding  his 
orders,  and  on  one  occasion  ordering  him  to  his 
berth. 

The  mate  openly  spoke  against  the  captain, 
and  all  he  said  was  duly  reported,  for  the  brutal 
officer  had,  as  may  well  be  imagined,  made  no 
friends  among  the  crew,  and  we  boys  sided  with 
the  men.  He  was  now  about  to  reap  the  reward 
of  his  infamous  treatment  of  his  crew. 

*  See  Note  VI ,  p  309. 


292  THE  SHELLBACK. 

We  had  dropped  anchor  at  about  8  a.m.,  and 
in  a  couple  of  hours  we  had  four  tug-boats  down, 
all  anxious  for  the  job  of  towing  us  in.  For  the 
last  time  came  the  order:  "All  hands  up  anchor!" 
The  men  jumped  about  as  lively  as  kittens.  The 
end  of  their  troubles  had  arrived. 

The  captain,  by  the  way,  had  left  the  ship, 
and  had  gone  to  Leith  to  report  our  arrival  to  the 
agents,  and  the  mate  was  left  in  charge.  Up  and 
down  went  the  windlass  brakes,  the  men  roaring 
out  the  chorus,  "Only  one  more  day,  my  Johnny/' 
every  line  being  an  improvised  abuse  of  mate, 
captain,  ship,  food,  steward,  etc.  The  mate  ordered 
them  to  stop  singing,  but  they  went  on,  and  the 
men  on  the  tug-boats  roared  themselves  hoarse 
with  laughing  at  the  song.  At  last  the  anchor 
was  hove  short  stay  apeak,  and  one  of  the  tugs 
made  fast  to  us. 

Just  as  the  anchor  was  tripped  a  stiff  breeze 
struck  the  ship  on  the  port  side,  and  all  the 
efforts  of  the  tug  to  bring  her  head  round  were 
unavailing.  A  second  tug  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  first,  but  their  combined  strength  failed  to 
bring  her  round  to  the  wind.  So  the  mate  sang 
out,  "  Stand  by  to  let  go  the  anchor !  "  The  carpenter 
was  ready  with  his  hammer.  One  of  the  tugs  had 
cast  off,  when  the  master  of  the  first  yelled  out : 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  293 

"  Hold  on,  sir !  One  more  minute  and  I'll  fetch 
her." 

The  mate  held  on,  and,  as  good  luck  would 
have  it,  the  breeze  slackened  off;  the  tug-boat 
started  ahead,  and  gradually  brought  us  round, 
so  there  we  were,  fairly  off  for  Leith  docks.  Near 
the  dock-head  we  cast  off  the  tug  and  sent  warp 
ashore.  The  captain  was  standing  on  the  dock- 
head  with  some  other  gentlemen,  watching  the 
mate's  proceedings. 

The  turn  round  the  dock-head  was  very  sharp, 
and  by  some  mismanagement  the  ship's  head  was 
not  cast  in  sufficient  time  to  clear  it.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  we  crashed  into  it,  carrying  away 
a  large  portion  of  it,  and  also  damaging  our  own 
bulwarks. 

The  captain's  face  was  an  edifying  sight  to 
behold,  but  he  said  nothing  until  the  ship  was 
made  fast  in  her  berth  alongside  the  quay.  Then 
he  came  on  board  and  treated  the  mate  to  a 
revised  edition  of  his  sea- going  repertory,  much 
to  the  delight  of  the  crowds  who  had  assembled 
to  witness  our  entry.  As  a  parting  shot,  he  said 
to  the  mate: 

"  So  you're  the who  would  like  to  paint  me 

black,   and   sell    me    down    South    for    a   thousand 
dollars,    eh!      When   you    talk    to  boys   in    future 


294 


SHELLBACK. 


you'd  better  go  forward,  or  see  that  the  cabin  sky- 
light's closed,  you  -  herring-gutted  Bluenose."  * 

He  went  ashore  again,  and  in  a  couple  of 
hours  afterwards  the  steward  came  on  board  with 
a  letter  which  he  gave  to  the  mate. 

It  was  a  note  from  the  captain,  dismissing  him 
from  the  ship,  and  notifying  him  that  he  could  go 
for  his  wages  "with  the  rest  of  the  foremast  hands" 
when  the  ship  was  paid  off. 

The  steward  waited  for  an  answer,  and  mean- 
while we  boys  got  to  the  gangway  each  with  a 
couple  of  feet  of  ratline  stuff.  The  mate  saw  what 
we  were  about,  and  he  called  out: 

"Hi!   boys!    give  this  scowbanker  his  answer." 

We  did  not  want  any  repetition  of  the  invitation. 
Our  moment  for  revenge  had  arrived.  We  went  for 
that  steward  and  gave  him  a  most  unmerciful 
cutting  up,  before  he  made  his  escape  from  the  ship. 

During  the  afternoon  the  captain  came  on 
board,  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  mate,  he  ordered 
him  off  the  ship.  The  mate  said  he  wanted  his 
discharge. 

"Well,"  snapped  the  captain,  "you'll  get  it 
to-morrow  —  an  A.  B.'s  discharge.  Meanwhile,  the 
quicker  you  get  out  of  the  ship  the  better  you'll 
please  me." 

*  Bluenose  is  the  name  given  to  the  natives  of  Nova  Scotia. 


'  HI  !     BOYS !     GIVE    THIS    SCOWBANKEB    HIS    ANSWER/  " 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  295 

The  mate  got  his  few  things  together  and 
walked  off.  There  now  remained  only  the  second 
and  third  mates,  the  boatswain  and  us  three  boys. 
The  poor  carpenter  had  got  his  fingers  crushed 
in  the  windlass  some  days  before,  and  had  been 
obliged  to  leave  the  ship  at  once  to  have  them 
amputated.  The  poor  man's  going  to  sea  as 
"  Chips "  was  thus  put  an  end  to  for  ever.  He 
was  an  excellent  carpenter,  and  not  bad-hearted, 
but  he  was  a  bilious  individual,  and  seemed  to 
be  soured  with  the  world.  The  men,  of  course, 
had  all  left  the  ship  as  soon  as  she  was  made  fast. 
They  had  completed  the  round  voyage. 

The  captain  ordered  us  down  into  the  cabin, 
and  after  giving  us  each  a  glass  of  grog,  he  got 
out  a  quantity  of  fine  American  tobacco  in  large 
plugs,  and  told  us  to  secrete  it  about  our  bodies 
and  bring  it  to  him  at  his  hotel.  We  packed 
ourselves  with  tobacco,  and  then  went  and  packed 
up  our  things. 

As  soon  as  the  captain  had  gone,  we  got  a 
couple  of  porters  and  had  our  chests  and  bags 
carried  to  a  hotel,  the  third  mate  going  with  us. 
We  found  that  a  steamer  would  be  leaving  next 
evening  for  Liverpool,  from  Glasgow,  so  we  laid 
ourselves  out  for  a  jolly  evening,  intending  to  get 
our  pay  and  be  off  next  day.  We  called  at  the 


296  THE  SHELLBACK. 

captain's  hotel  and  delivered  our  tobacco,  the 
Customs'  people  not  having  taken  the  trouble  to 
examine  three  ship's  boys. 

We  found  the  captain  delightfully  amiable — 
he  had  rigged  himself  in  his  shore-going  manners. 

He  told  us  that  if  we  would  stay  with  him  he 
would  make  thorough  sailors  oi  us. 

"As  for  you,  Boyd,"  he  said,  "I'll  make  you 
the  youngest  captain  that  ever  crossed  the  Atlantic 
if  you  will  remain  with  me." 

I  thanked  him,  but  said  I  had  other  views. 
My  experience  of  American  ships  was  not  so 
pleasant  as  to  make  me  wish  to  continue  at  sea 
under  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  I  meant  to  go 
home  and  consider  matters. 

"Very  well,"  he  said,  "but  you're  a  darned 
young  fool,  and  you'll  live  to  repent  changing  the 
devil  you  do  know  for  the  devil  you  don't." 

Now  that  we  were  safely  ashore,  some  of  the  men, 
who,  as  I  said,  had  been  shipmasters,  determined  to 
prosecute  the  captain  for  cruelty.  They  went  to 
the  Scottish  authorities  and  laid  a  complaint. 
"Very  dreadful,"  said  these  gentlemen.  "The 
matter  must  be  looked  into,  and  depend  upon  it 
you  will  get  redress.  To  what  port  does  your  ship 
belong  ? " 

"To  New  York,"  said  the  men. 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  297 

"Oh!  To  New  York!  Well,  we  must  act 
legally.  Your  proper  course  is  first  to  see  the 
American  consul." 

So  away  to  the  American  consul  went  the 
sailors.  They  again  preferred  their  complaint. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  that  functionary.  "  It  is  un- 
doubtedly a  case  to  be  inquired  into.  But,  you 
see,  I  am  powerless.  The  ship  hails  from  New 
York — you  shipped  there,  and  you  must  go  there 
with  the  ship  and  lay  your  complaint  before  the 
American  courts." 

"Yes,  sir!  Very  well,  but  what  can  we  do? 
We  can't  stay  here  till  the  ship  sails,  and  besides, 
she  may  not  go  back  to  New  York,  and  we've 
already  lost  three  months'  wages." 

"Ah!  I'm  very  sorry,"  said  the  consul,  "but 
there  is  no  other  legal  way  of  proceeding.  You 
must  either  go  to  New  York  and  prosecute  the 
captain  there,  or  else  you  must  grin  and  bear  it 
If  you  take  my  advice  you'll  let  the  thing  drop, 
for  you've  got  all  you're  likely  to  get,  if  you  wait 
till  Doomsday." 

The  men  consequently  had  to  give  up  all  idea 
of  obtaining  redress,  and  within  a  week  most  of 
them  were  afloat  again  to  undergo  much  the  same 
experience. 

We — that   is,    the    third    mate,    boatswain,  and 


298  THE  SHELLBACK. 

three  boys — set  out  after  tea  to  enjoy  ourselves,  so 
we  ran  up  to  Edinburgh  and  went  to  the  theatre, 
after  which  we  had  a  glorious  supper,  and  sat  so 
long  eating,  drinking,  yarning,  and  smoking  that  we 
found  ourselves  at  one  a.in,  without  provision  for 
a  night's  lodging.  We  went  out  into  the  silent 
streets  and  looked  about.  All  was  dark  as  a  vault. 
No  lights  in  any  houses. 

"Now,"  said  the  third  mate,  "we're  in  a 
pretty  fix.  This  is  Scotland,  mind,  and  now  it's 
Sunday  morning.  It'll  be  a  chance  if  we  get  a 
bed  anywhere." 

I  suggested  looking  for  a  policeman.  It  was 
a  happy  thought,  so  we  walked  on  till  we  found  one, 
and  we  asked  him  if  he  could  show  us  any  place 
where  we  could  get  a  bed. 

"Ay,  laddies,  I  micht,"  he  replied;  "come  awa 

_•»  _ ,_ » 
wi  me. 

So  we  followed  him  for  a  short  distance,  and 
at  last  he  stopped  at  a  tall  house.  He  knocked, 
but  there  was  no  response.  Again  he  tried,  with 
no  better  result.  "  Hech,  sirs ! "  he  said,  "  ye  ken 
it's  the  Sawbath  the  noo.  I'm  thinking  we  maun 
gang  elsewhere." 

A  few  doors  further  on  we  were  more  successful. 
The  policeman  stopped  at  a  public-house,  which  he 
said  was  a  kind  of  a  night-house  for  travellers. 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  299 

The  landlord  opened  the  door,  and  we  asked 
the  friendly  policeman  to  come  in  and  take  a 
drink. 

"Did  I  no  tell  ye  'twas  the  Sawbath,  laddies? 
Wad  ye  hae  an  honest  man  risk  his  immortal 
saul  for  a  dram  on  the  Sawbath  ? "  he  exclaimed. 

We  did  not  wish  to  offend  him,  so  we  said, 
"Thank  you,  and  good-night,"  and  were  about  to 
close  the  door,  when  he  turned  his  back  to  it,  and 
put  his  coat-tails  between  it  and  the  door-post, 
saying : 

"  Ye  rnicht,  maybe,  be  pittin'  a  botle  intil  ma 
po-ket,  and  I  wadna  ken  naethin'  aboot  it  till  I 
get  hame." 

We  took  the  hint,  and  slipped  a  bottle  of 
whisky  into  his  coat-tail  pocket,  and  he  went 
away  to  commune  with  his  "immortal  saul"  on 
this  "Sawbath  morn." 

We  were  given  very  comfortable  beds,  and  next 
morning,  or,  rather,  the  same  morning,  for  it  was 
now  past  two  a.rn.,  intended  to  start  for  Glasgow, 
but  we  had  forgotten  about  this  being  Sunday 
Of  course,  we  could  not  get  paid,  and  we  would 
would  not  go  without  our  money.  Each  boy  had 
about  sixteen  pounds  to  draw,  and  the  third  mate 
and  boatswain  about  fifty  pounds  each,  and  that 
was  too  much  to  lose,  so  we  made  up  our  minds 


3oo  THE  SHELLBACK. 

to  spend  the  day  in  seeing  the  sights  of  "Auld 
Reekie." 

Edinburgh  has  been  described  so '  often  that  I 
need  say  nothing  about  it  here.  I  am  not 
writing  a  guide-book.  We  walked  about  all  the 
morning,  then  went  back  to  our  hotel  and  dined. 
We  had  a  short  "watch  below"  afterwards  in  the 
shape  of  a  two  hours'  sleep,  and  then  set  off  to 
walk  back  to  Leifch.  We  strolled  very  leisurely 
along,  and  got  back  to  our  abode  by  tea- 
time. 

Next  morning  we  went  to  the  shipping  office 
to  get  paid  off.  We  found  all  our  old  crew 
waiting  to  be  paid.  When  we  entered  the  room 
where  the  captain  was  sitting,  the  first  thing  he 
asked  us  was: 

"What  are  you  boys  doing  here?  Who  gave 
you  permission  to  leave  the  ship?" 

We  said  that  all  hands  had  left  her,  and  we 
were  not  bound  apprentices,  so  we  could  leave  as 
well  as  the  rest 

He  looked  very  savage,  and  then  asked  us 
each  separately  if  we  would  go  back.  We  all 
said  we  would  not. 

"For  my  part,"  I  said,  "I  have  seen  so  much 
needless  cruelty  and  persecution  of  defenceless  men 
and  boys  during  the  passage  from  Melbourne  that 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  301 

I  would  not  return  even  if  you  offered  to  make 
me  second  mate  next  voyage." 

The  captain  at  once  paid  off  Sharpo  and 
Wilkinson,  and  then  said  to  me : 

"Now  listen  to  me,  boy.  You're  a  born  sailor, 
and  if  you  stick  to  me,  I'll  do  as  I  said  before — 
enable  you  to  get  your  master's  certificate  before 
some  men  have  got  a  second  mate's.  Now,  be 
advised.  I  told  you  I  had  taken  a  fancy  to  you, 
and  you  never  can  say  you  were  ill-treated.  I  let 
you  off  punishment,  when  you  richly  deserved  it, 
for  deserting  at  the  Chinchas,  and  I've  done  all  I 
can  to  make  a  navigator  of  you.  I  can't  tell  you 
what  I  felt  when  you  told  me  before  the  Peruvian 
Commandant  O'Brien  that  you  did  not  like  me 
nor  my  ship.  Those  words  cut  me  to  the  heart." 

I  was  nearly  giving  in  and  going  back  to  the 
ship,  when  the  third  mate,  who  had  been  paid, 
and  was  waiting  at  the  end  of  the  room,  near  the 
door,  for  me,  said  to  the  boys : 

"That  canting  hypocrite  will  get  over  Riley,  if 
he  doesn't  look  out." 

I  heard  him,  and  the  remark  decided  me.  I 
told  the  captain  I  was  much  obliged  to  him,  but 
I  had  sworn  never  to  set  foot  in  an  American 
ship  again,  and  I  would  keep  my  oath  in  spite 
of  everything. 


302  THE  SHELLBACK. 

The  captain  said  I  should  live  to  regret  my 
decision,  paid  me  off,  gave  me  a  plug  of  his  good 
tobacco,  which  had  not  paid  duty,  and  shook 
hands  with  me.  I  have  never  seen  him  since; 
but  before  I  left  Leith  I  heard  that  the  Altamont's 
former  captain  had  come  down  to  Leith  to  take 
charge  of  the  ship,  so  that,  had  I  returned  to  her, 
I  should  have  exchanged  captains,  perhaps  for  the 
better,  perhaps  not. 

Looking  back  now,  after  thirty-three  years,  I 
feel  sure  that  had  I  stuck  to  Captain  Barton's 
fortunes  I  should  have  undoubtedly  risen  very 
quickly,  and  might  now  have  still  been  at  sea  in 
command  of  some  great  Atlantic  steamer.  But 
you  cannot  put  old  heads  on  young  shoulders.  I 
was  thoroughly  disgusted,  not  with  the  sea,  for  I 
loved  it,  but  with  the  cruel  treatment  of  seamen  in 
American  ships.  I  had  seen  horrid  brutality,  not 
only  in  my  own  ship,  but  in  several  others;  so  I 
determined  I  would  never  put  foot  on  board  a 
Yankee  as  long  as  I  lived.  The  Stars  and  Stripes 
may  be  a  very  fine  flag,  but  give  me  the  old 
Union  Jack  before  the  flag  of  any  other  nation 
under  the  sun. 

After  this  we  got  our  traps  together,  and  started 
for  Glasgow.  We  went  to  a  hotel  on  the  Broomie- 
law,  and  found  we  should  not  have  much  time  to 


THE  LAST  OF  POOR  BARNEY.  303 

spare,  as  the  steamer  Leopard  would  leave  for 
Liverpool  at  nine  in  the  evening.  We  went  to  look 
at  her,  and,  thinking  it  unmanly  to  want  a  regular 
berth  for  a  short  run,  we  took  deck  passages.  I 
can  remember  nothing  about  the  Glasgow  of  that 
period,  although  I  have  often  been  there  of  late 
years,  so  I  pass  over  the  few  hours  we  spent  in 
the  city.  At  the  appointed  time  we  went  on  board 
the  Leopard.  The  weather  had  been  getting  very 
bad.  It  was  pitch  dark  and  raining  heavily,  and 
when  we  got  through  the  North  Channel  and  were 
off  the  Mull  of  Galloway  the  short  confused  sea 
was  pitching  the  steamer  about  like  a  cork.  I  had 
never  been  sea-sick  in  my  life,  but  the  motion  of 
the  boat  was  quite  a  new  experience.  At  last  I 
could  stand  it  no  longer.  There  was  no  shelter, 
it  was  bitterly  cold,  and,  although  not  actually 
sick,  I  gave  five  shillings  to  a  sailor  to  find  me  a 
dry  bunk  and  get  my  jacket  and  trousers  dried 
at  the  stoke-hole.  I  tried  to  persuade  the  others 
to  do  the  same,  but  they  said  they  were  drenched 
through,  and  a  few  hours  more  would  make  no 
difference,  so  I  went  and  turned  in,  and  slept  till 
morning,  awaking  to  find  the  weather  a  little  clearer 
and  the  Leopard  nearing  the  Mersey.  Arrived  at 
Liverpool,  we  at  once  made  for  a  hotel,  where 
we  had  a  good  berth,  a  change  of  clothing,  and  a 


304  THE  SHELLBACK. 

first-rate  breakfast.  I  wrote  at  once  to  some  rela- 
tives at  Holywell,  in  Flintshire,  and  in  a  day  or 
two  got  a  pressing  invitation  to  go  and  take  up  my 
quarters  with  them.  So  I  bade  farewell  to  my  old 
shipmates,  and  took  a  small  steamer  which  used  to 
run  across  to  the  Dee.  In  a  few  hours  I  was 
once  more  in  comfort  and  luxury.  I  have  never 
seen  one  of  my  shipmates  again,  although  I  have 
crossed  the  various  oceans  many  a  time  since  then. 
I  suppose  they  stuck  to  American  ships,  and  as  I 
carried  out  my  vow  to  sail  in  future  under  the 
British  flag,  this  will  account  for  our  never  meeting. 

I  wrote  to  poor  Barney's  father  at  Wicklow, 
giving  him  a  full  account  of  his  son's  death,  but 
received  no  reply. 

Such  was  my  introduction  to  the  sea  and  sea- 
life.  It  was  a  hard  experience  in  one  way,  but  it 
might  have  been  worse. 


305 


NOTE  L 


SOME  of  the  ''  shanteys  "  are  very  musical,  but  the  words  are 
generally  absurd.    Take,  for  instance,  the  following : — 

"Bony  was  a  general, 

Way  hay  yah ! 
Bony  licked  the  Booshians, 

Jean  Francois. 
Bony  licked  the  Booshians, 

Way  hay  yah ! 
Bony  licked  the  Booshians, 

Jean  Francois,"  etc. 

Here  is  another  good  topsail-halliard  "  shantey  "  : — 

"  Oh !  whisky  is  the  soul  of  man, 

Whisky,  Johnny. 
Oh !  whisky  is  the  soul  of  man, 

Whisky  for  my  Johnny. 
Whisky  tried  to  make  me  drunk, 

Whisky,  Johnny. 
Oh !  whisky  tried  to  knock  me  down, 

Whisky  for  my  Johnny. 

"Whisky  hot  and  whisky  cold, 

Whisky,  Johnny. 
Oh !  whisky  for  a  sailor  bold, 

Whisky  for  my  Johnny. 
Whisky's  gone,  what  shall  I  do? 

Whisky,  Johnny. 
Oh !  whisky's  gone,  and  I'll  go  too, 

Whisky  for  my  Johnny,"  etc. 

A  man  with  a  good  voice  leads  off  with  a  line  of  the 
gong,  and  the   others  join  in  the  chorus,  which  is  made  to 
U 


3o6  THE  SHELLBACK. 

time  with  the  pull  on  the  halliards,  or  the  stroke  of  the 
pump  brakes.  Sometimes  a  single  and  sometimes  a  double 
pull  is  required,  and  the  choruses  vary  as  given  above. 
There  are  "  shanteys  "  adopted  for  almost  all  "  pully-hauley  " 
work  on  board  ship;  some  slow  and  drawling,  others  smart 
and  lively.  I  shall  never  forget  the  "  shantey,"  I  heard  once, 
when  I  went  aloft  in  a  heavy  blow  for  the  first  time  to  assist 
in  furling  the  foresail.  The  sail  was  stiff  and  frozen,  and 
when  at  last  we  were  ready  to  haul  up  the  bunt,  the  shantey- 
man  broke  into  song. 

All  hands  took  a  good  grip,  and  waited.  There  we  lay 
along  the  yard,  the  gale  howling  in  our  teeth,  our  fingers 
freezing,  listening  to  a  song.  It  seemed  to  me  a  dreadful 
waste  of  time,  especially  as  we  were  wet  and  cold,  and  I 
wanted  to  get  below  out  of  the  cutting  wind  and  sleet. 
The  "  shanteyman,"  however,  drawled  out  clear  enough,  in 
spite  of  the  howling  of  the  wind — 

"Who  sto-o-ole  my  b-o-ots? 

That  dirty  Blackball  sailor. 
Who  sto-o-ole  my  b-o-ots  ? 

Ah— ha ! ! " 

With  the  "Ah— ha!"  chorused  by  all  hands,  the  sail 
was  rolled  up  in  a  jiffy,  the  gaskets  passed,  the  bunt  neatly 
made,  and  we  got  down  from  aloft  far  quicker  than  if  we 
had  fumbled  about  in  a  disconnected  "Pull  you,  Johnny, 
I  pulled  last"  kind  of  fashion. 


NOTE   II. 
STUNSAILS  (STUDDING  SAILS). 

I  BELIEVE  that  few  ships  nowadays  make  use  of  these 
troublesome  additions.  They  cause  an  immense  amount  of 
labour  without  a  corresponding  gain  in  speed.  I  have  seen, 


NOTES.  307 

in  light,  variable  winds,  the  stunsails  set  and  taken  in  five 
or  six  times  during  a  watch.  Boxing  about  the  yards  in 
these  winds  is  a  great  trial  to  the  men's  patience,  but  when 
the  rigging  out  and  in  of  stunsail  booms,  setting  and  taking 
in  the  sails,  is  added  to  other  labour,  then  is  the  time  to 
hear  Jack  in  his  character  of  champion  growler. 


NOTE   III. 

LOADLINE  :      THE  "  PLIMSOLL "    MARK    ANTICIPATED. 

THE  ship  was  caulked,  and  a  red  mark  was  placed  on  her 
by  the  Peruvian  authorities  to  show  to  what  depth  she  might 
be  loaded.  This  was  a  most  necessary  precaution,  as  the 
utmost  recklessness  used  to  be  exhibited  in  loading  the 
vessels.  I  have  seen  a  large  ship  leaving  the  islands  so 
heavily  laden  that  it  was  easy  to  step  from  a  boat  on  to  her 
deck,  and  this  in  the  face  of  a  perilous  voyage  round  Cape 
Horn  in  September  or  October,  when  heavy  easterly  gales 
and  icebergs  might  be  expected  to  be  met  with.  We  heard 
afterwards  that  the  Peruvian  authorities  lightened  this 
vessel  considerably  before  giving  the  captain  his  clearance 
at  Callao. 


NOTE   IV. 

THE   ANCIENT   MARINER    V.    AMERICAN    CLIPPERS. 

IN  vivid  contrast  with  The  Ancient  Mariner  were  the 
American  clipper  ships.  Most  of  these  were  magnificent 
specimens  of  naval  architecture.  Broad  in  the  beam,  float- 
ing low  on  the  water  with  a  graceful  sheer,  clean  run, 
rounded  stern,  and  bows  like  a  knife,  they  lay  like  graceful 
birds  on  the  water.  The  hulls  of  all  were  painted  black, 


308  THE  SHELLBACK. 

some  having  a  narrow  white  streak  and  some  a  red  one 
running  round  the  side,  relieving  the  general  sombre  hue. 
The  spars  were  delicate  and  tapering  as  those  of  a  yacht, 
towering  high  into  the  air,  and,  unlike  the  squat-looking 
British  stump-royal  masts,  terminated  in  slender  sky  sail 
poles.  They  all  carried  very  square  yards,  double  topsails, 
and  some  had  double  topgallant  yards.  Their  decks  were 
unhampered  by  houses,  the  after-deck  being  clear  right  from 
the  wheel  to  the  galley  amidships.  I  have  met  many  of 
these  vessels  at  sea  both  in  calm  and  in  heavy  weather,  as 
well  as  in  a  topgallant-studding-sail  breeze,  and  whether 
staggering  along  under  close-reefed  topsails,  or  bowling  along 
with  a  fair  wind  on  the  quarter  with  skysails  and  royal 
studding  sails  bellying  out  to  the  favouring  breeze,  they 
present  one  of  the  grandest  pictures  the  eye  can  rest  upon. 
Amongst  these  were  the  Napier,  West  Wind,  Morning  Glory ^ 
Sarah  M.,  and  Young  America.  We  had  a  sample  of  their 
sailing  powers  in  the  last-named  ship,  which  is  mentioned 
in  the  text. 


NOTE   V. 
SEAMEN'S  PHILOSOPHY. 

ONE  would  have  thought  that  the  men  would  have  been 
too  savage  and  sulky  to  take  the  grog,  but  that  would  not 
have  helped  them.  All  they  would  have  gained,  or  lost 
rather,  by  refusing  it,  would  have  been  that  they  would  not 
get  a  drop  of  anything  comforting  in  the  bitter  cold  weather 
and  icy  gales  which  might  be  expected  on  the  run  home. 
There  would  certainly  have  been  no  tea  or  coffee  for  them, 
except  once  a  day  in  the  morning  watch  and  once  at  tea- 
time,  for  the  captain  was  generous  in  nothing  but  rum,  and 
that  was  served  out  once  a  day  regularly,  and  always  after 
reefing  topsails.  So  they  took  their  grog.  We  boys  were 


NOTES.  309 

expected  to  take  our  share,  and,  considering  the  miserable 
food  supplied  to  us  at  sea,  we  were  glad  to  get  something 
to  season  it 


NOTE   VI. 

DANGERS    OF    COLLISION— PECULIAR    STATES    OP    THK 
ATMOSPHERE. 

THIS  reminds  me  of  a  case  which  occurred  when  I  was  in 
the  Mediterranean  in  a  large  steamer.  I  was  on  the  bridge 
one  lovely  moonlight  night,  and  the  chief  officer  said  to  me : 

"  Now,  doesn't  it  seem  absurd  that  it  should  be  necessary 
to  keep  a  strict  look-out  on  a  night  like  this]  Why,  one 
could  see  a  boat  five  miles  away  ! " 

The  night  certainly  appeared  marvellously  clear.  There 
was  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky,  and  the  surface  of  the  sea  was 
gently  rippling  under  the  influence  of  a  soft  breeze.  Un- 
doubtedly, I  should  have  agreed  with  him  that  a  vessel 
could  be  seen  miles  away. 

As  he  was  speaking,  he  was  leaning  his  back  to  the  bows 
on  the  bridge  rail.  I  stood  facing  him,  looking  forward. 
Suddenly  I  noticed  a  felucca  with  two  large  lateen  sails  close 
on  our  starboard  bow.  "  By  Jove  ! "  I  sang  out.  "  Look  at 
that !  Shift  the  helm,  or  they'll  all  be  in  glory  in  two 
minutes ! " 

The  chief  took  one  look  at  the  apparently  doomed  vessel, 
and  then  signalled  the  engine-room  "Stop,"  and  ported  the 
helm.  There  was  but  just  time.  The  felucca  crossed  our 
bows  so  close  that  we  could  see  the  man  at  the  tiller,  and 
several  forms  apparently  fast  asleep  on  deck.  Not  a  word 
did  one  of  them  utter.  I  believe  the  steersman  was  half- 
asleep,  or  perhaps  half -drunk,  or  they  never  would  have 
attempted  to  pass  so  close  ahead  of  a  mail  steamer  going  at 
the  rate  of  fifteen  knots. 


3io  THE  SHELLBACK. 

When  all  was  over,  the  mate  said  :  "  By  the  living  Jingo  ! 
There's  a  lesson  for  you,  young  man,  to  keep  your  eyes 
skinned  on  the  clearest  night." 

Yes,  I  thought,  and  a  lesson  for  you  too,  my  friend,  for 
T  saw  her  when  you  did  not.  I  asked  him  how  it  happened 
we  had  not  seen  her  before,  the  night  being  so  fine.  He 
said  he  supposed  that  for  some  time  there  had  been  a  kind 
of  impalpable  haze  over  the  water,  and  the  felucca  not 
coming  before  the  wind,  the  sails  had  not  been  visible ;  but 
there  was  no  doubt  she  ought  to  have  been  seen  by  the 
look-out  and  by  us  sooner  than  that. 


APPENDIX. 

Sailing  Ship  and  Steamer— The  British  Tar:  inveterate  Growler 
and  Potential  Hero— A  Typical  A.B.— Life  and  Work  at  Sea 
— Punishments— Sea  Bullies — Hazing — Euchred ! — Amusements 
— A  Gale  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay — The  wreck  of  the  Gothenbwg 
— A  Gruesome  Salvage. 

THE  incidents  related  in  the  preceding  pages  are 
not  drawn  from  imagination,  but  are  a  true  descrip- 
tion of  the  events  which  occurred  when  first  I  went 
to  sea.  The  only  fiction  is  in  the  names  of  the 
ship,  the  captain,  and  officers,  which  for  obvious 
reasons  I  have  altered.  It  will  be  said  that  things 
have  changed  since  my  day.  In  English  sailing 
vessels  this  is  so,  but  there  are  constantly  cases  of 
shooting  and  ill-treatment  of  sailors  by  their  officers 
cropping  up  at  our  police  courts,  and  the  delin- 
quents generally  sail  under  the  United  States  flag. 
Quite  recently  a  man  was  "hazed"  to  death  on 
board  a  vessel  arriving  in  Brisbane,  Queensland, 
and  the  facts  were  brought  out  by  an  inquiry  held 
there.  These  facts  quite  bear  out  everything  that 
I  have  written  about  savage  officers;  indeed,  the 
ill-treatment  of  the  man  in  this  case  was  worse  than 
anything  I  have  set  down.  Passengers  rarely  see 


312  THE  SHELLBACK. 

anything  of  this,  because,  if  any  brutality  takes 
place,  it  is  under  cover  of  night,  and  they  are  in 
their  berths.  And  another  reason  is  that  passengers, 
except  sometimes  emigrants,  are  rare  nowadays  in 
sailing  vessels.  They  prefer  travelling  by  steamers, 
where  there  is  very  little  bullying,  short,  quick 
passages  not  affording  scope  for  it,  besides  which 
the  captain  and  officers  are  usually  gentlemanly 
in  their  behaviour,  and  do  not  condescend  to  con- 
duct and  language  such  as  I  have  described. 

On  overhauling  my  old  "sea  log,"  I  find  one 
entry  which  marks  an  epoch  in  my  life. 

The  date  is  Thursday,  April  5th,  1860,  and  it 
relates  very  briefly  that  I,  Alexander  J.  Boyd, 
shipped  as  a  boy  on  board  the  American  vessel 
AUamont.  She  was  a  large  full-rigged  ship  bound 
from  Melbourne  to  Callao — the  port  of  Lima,  in 
Peru — in  ballast,  thence  to  proceed  to  the  Chincha 
Islands,  and  there  load  a  cargo  of  guano  for  Cork 
"  for  orders."  Brief,  businesslike,  and  in  itself  almost 
uninteresting,  and  yet  it  was  the  beginning  of  a 
momentous  change  for  me — the  first  page  of  my 
life  at  sea.  Furthermore,  it  is  an  episode  in  an 
almost  forgotten  "  trade,"  a  page  in  the  history  of 
commerce  which  can  hardly  turn  up  agaia  Who- 
ever hears  nowadays  of  Peruvian  guano  and  the 
Chincha  Islands ! 


APPENDIX.  313 

My  old  sea-log !  What  a  flood  of  reminis- 
cences does  this  faded,  yellow  collection  of  facts  and 
figures,  trivialities  and  dangers,  adventure,  reality,  and 
romance,  bring  before  my  mind  !  Less  than  thirty- 
four  years  ago  I  was  a  young,  hearty,  careless  sailor,  . 
taking  no  thought  for  the  future  beyond  hoping  that 
molasses  would  form  an  adjunct  to  the  bi-weekly  pork 
at  dinner,  or  that  the  night  would  pass  without 
my  being  roused  out  of  my  bunk  to  spend  on 
deck  what  ought  to  be  a  watch  below. 

To-day  I  ain  sitting  on  this  comfortable  verandah 
wondering  where  I  should  have  been  had  I  stuck 
to  the  sea. 

I  confess  to  a  lingering  regret  for  the  old  life.  I 
still  love  to  find  myself  at  sea  in  a  stout  sailing  vessel, 
driving  before  the  S.E.  trade  wind,  with  her  topmast 
stunsails  and  topgallant  stunsails  bellying  out 
and  bending  the  straining  booms,  the  running  gear 
"  stopped  up  "  clear  of  the  rail,  a  bright  sun  or  clear 
moon  overhead,  and  the  long  Pacific  rollers  rushing 
past  the  ship  as  if  challenging  her  to  a  race.  What 
can  compare  to  the  excitement  of  a  mad  fight 
between  the  gallant  ship,  goaded  by  the  furious  blasts 
of  a  southerly  gale  off  the  Horn  or  Cape  Leeuwin, 
and  the  tremendous  seas  that  rear  their  vast  crested 
height  above  her,  and  threaten  to  bury  her  and 
her  toiling  crew  in  the  tumbling  swirl  ?  Many  will 


314  THE  SHELLBACK. 

say  (and  especially  will  sailors  declare)  that  this 
is  all  very  well  to  read  about  when  the  observer 
of  a  hurricane  views  it  from  the  shore,  but  that 
the  actual  experience  is  not  a  thing  to  be  desired. 

What  pleasure,  or  what  comfort  can  there  be 
in  rolling  about  upon  decks  flooded  with  water — often 
coated  with  ice  ?  What  sane  man  would  think  of 
admiring  the  awful  magnificence  of  a  hurricane  in 
winter,  latitude  60°  south,  when  he  is  lying  out  on 
the  fore-yard,  clothed  in  frozen  oilskins,  hanging  on 
by  "  the  skin  of  his  eyelids,"  with  the  blinding  hail 
and  sleet  cutting  his  face  and  hands  for,  perhaps,  two 
hours  at  a  stretch,  getting  a  reef  in  a  sail  which  is 
frozen  to  the  hardness  of  a  sheet  of  iron  ? 

Well,  the  pleasure  may  be  a  doubtful  one,  but 
I  know  that  all  the  miseries  of  a  voyage  are  lost 
to  memory  when  Cape  Clear  light  is  sighted,  and  the 
pilot  gets  over  the  side.  Thoughts  of  the  nearness  of 
home  and  friends  crowd  out  all  dark  reminiscences. 
Still,  a  true  lover  of  the  sea  will  always  cherish  a 
pleasing  memory  of  the  weeks,  months,  aye,  or  years, 
he  has  passed  amidst  the  ever- varying  scenes  of  a 
sailor's  life.  To  me  the  very  smell  of  pitch  and  tar 
is  as  the  odour  of  Jockey  Club  to  a  lady,  and  never 
fails  to  bring  back  a  secret  regret  that  the  days  of  my 
sailoring  are  for  ever  passed  away.  I  was  one 
day  sitting  on  the  wharf  watching  the  men  bejiding 


APPENDIX.  315 

the  sails  on  board  a  large  sailing  vessel,  which  had 
completed  her  loading  of  wool,  and  was  getting  ready 
for  the  homeward  voyage,  when,  looking  across  the 
river,  I  saw  one  of  the  huge  British  India  steamers 
heaving  out  cargo,  and  I  thought  of  the  time 
now  rapidly  approaching  when  the  dear  old  sailing 
vessels  would  be  shouldered  out  by  these  great 
iron  boxes.  In  a  very  few  years  it  will  be,  I  thought, 
like  "  Tales  of  a  Grandfather  "  to  tell  our  boys  of  the 
beautiful  clippers,  the  splendid  frigate-built  liners,  the 
graceful  schooners  and  clumsy  brigs,  which  at  one 
time  covered  the  ocean.  What  conception  will  they 
be  able  to  form  of  the  rough-and-ready  life  of  the 
forecastle,  such  as  I  have  seen  it,  from  visiting  the 
quarters  of  the  sailors  on  board  a  mail  steamer  of  the 
present  day  ?  How  could  they  imagine  a  voyage 
lasting  one,  two,  or  three  years,  when  the  remotest 
countries  of  the  world  are  brought  within  days  of  each 
other  by  the  all-powerful  steam  ?  In  the  preceding 
pages  I  have  endeavoured  to  keep  alive  the  memory 
of  the  past,  and  to  bring  before  the  reader  as 
vividly  as  possible  the  events  of  the  first  portion  of 
my  life  at  sea.  In  those  which  follow,  I  shall  indulge 
in  a  few  personal  reminiscences  of  the  ocean,  and 
shall  give  some  idea  of  what  life  at  sea  in  the  sixties 
was  in  general,  and  discuss  the  pros  and  cans  for 
a  seaman's  life. 


316  THE  SHELLBACK. 

These  observations  have  at  least  the  merit  of  being 
made  by  one  who  ought  to  know — who  has  tempted 
fortune  in  many  forms,  both  afloat  and  ashore,  and 
who  can  claim  the  same  sort  of  consideration  for  his 
opinion  as  the  old  Scotsman  who  averred  that 
honesty  really  was  the  best  policy.  "  A  ken,"  said  he, 
"  for  A  hae  tried  baith." 

Although  it  is  customary  for  most  sailors  to  run 
down  the  sea,  to  declare  that  a  sailor  has  a  dog's  life* 
and  that  once  ashore  they  will  never  put  foot  on  ship- 
board again,  their  statements  have  to  be  taken,  not  in 
their  literal  sense,  but  merely  as  the  natural  expression 
of  a  sailor's  love  of  growling.  I  think  that  the  more 
a  sailor  growls,  the  better  seaman  he  is.  It  is  said 
that  the  privilege  of  "  writing  to  the  papers "  to 
ventilate  grievances  is  the  safety  valve  of  the  British 
people.  In  like  manner,  a  good  growling  match  is  the 
safety  valve  of  the  forecastle. 

Talking  of  growling,  the  most  singular  specimen  I 
ever  heard  was  on  board  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental 
steamer  Simla  from  Suez  to  Melbourne.  The  coal  in 
the  bunkers  had  taken  fire,  and  immense  exertions 
were  made  by  officers  and  crew  to  get  the  fire  under. 
There  were  some  ninety  saloon,  and  an  equal  number 
of  second  cabin,  passengers  on  board,  and  a  panic 
might  easily  have  arisen. 

But  the  demeanour  of  the  ship's  company  was 


APPENDIX.  317 

such  that  everybody  felt  that  there  could  be  no  real 
danger.  The  sailors  worked  like  heroes  in  the  heat 
and  stifling  smoke  without  a  murmur,  and  they  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  fire  under,  but  not  until  many 
of  the  cabins  had  to  be  abandoned  by  the  passengers 
owing  to  the  heat  beneath  them.  A  day  or  two  after- 
wards the  same  sailors  came  aft  with  a  roast  turkey 
or  two,  roast  and  boiled  fowl,  and  wished  to  know  if 
that  was  food  fit  for  hard-working  men  !  They  were 
being  fed  on  the  best  provisions  from  the  saloon  table, 
and  growled  because  it  was  not  salt  beef!  But  that 
is  Jack  all  over.  Work  him  hard,  house  him  badly, 
feed  him  on  the  coarsest  food,  and  he  will  growl. 
Reverse  all  this.  Give  him  good  quarters,  good  food, 
and  little  work — still  he  will  growl  And  here  it 
should  be  stated  that  sailors  require  to  be  kept  con- 
stantly at  work.  Idleness,  on  board  a  sailing-vessel 
at  least,  if  not  on  board  a  steamer,  is  the  source  of 
discontent.  In  a  ship  where  the  men  are  regularly 
employed  during  their  day- watches  on  deck,  there  is 
very  little  opportunity  for  hatching  trouble ;  and  thus 
every  mate  who  knows  his  duty  will  !:ake  care  to  find 
work  for  the  men.  To  a  landsman  it  would  seern 
that  when  the  decks  have  been  scrubbed,  the  paint 
and  brass-work  cleaned,  the  running  gear  neatly 
flaked  or  flemished  down,  nothing  of  moment  can 
remain  to  be  done.  But  there  is  usually  more  work 


3i8  THE  SHELLBACK. 

to  be  done  on  board  ship  than  there  is  time  to  do  it 
in.  When  a  ship  puts  to  sea,  everything  is  at  first 
like  a  midshipman's  chest — "  Everything  uppermost, 
nothing  at  hand."  Sail-locker,  paint-locker,  bread- 
locker,  boatswain's  locker,  all  sorts  of  lockers,  have  to 
be  set  in  order,  so  that  whatever  is  wanted  in  a 
hurry  can  be  got  at  a  moment's  notice,  as  well  in  the 
blackest  darkness  and  wild  uproar  of  a  hurricane  as 
in  broad  daylight  and  fine  weather.  Then  there  is 
an  incredible  quantity  of  small  stores  required,  which 
are  always  made  by  the  crew  on  board.  Such  are 
thrummed  mats,  spun  yarn,  Spanish  foxes,  chafing- 
gear  of  all  kinds,  swabs,  etc.,  etc.  The  chafing-gear 
consists  of  mats,  battens,  canvas,  etc.,  which  are  "seized 
on"  to  any  parts  of  the  standing  rigging  that  are 
liable  to  be  chafed  by  the  constant  friction  of  the 
running  gear.  This  constantly  requires  renewing. 
Then  various  ropes  have  to  be  "  wormed,"  "  par- 
celled," and  "served."  Hundreds  of  fathoms  of 
"  sinnit,"  or  five-yarn  plait,  have  to  be  made.  A  good 
day's  work  of  "  sinnit "  making  is  supposed  to  pro- 
duce sufficient  to  reach  from  the  jibboom  end  to  the 
spanker  boom  end.  It  may  be  well  to  admit  that 
this  depends  upon  the  size  of  the  ship.  The  boys  are 
usually  employed  at  this  work,  as  well  as  in  knotting 
rope-yarns  and  making  bucket-ropes.  The  rigging, 
too,  is  being  frequently  overhauled,  ratlines  secured, 


APPENDIX.  319 

backstays  set  up,  stays  tautened ;  and  all  this  work 
leads  to  more,  because  every  part  of  the  standing- 
rigging  is  so  intimately  connected  that  if  one  part  is 
altered  it  necessitates  operations  on  another.  A  con- 
siderable portion  of  time  is  taken  up  hi  mending 
sails.  The  constant  friction  of  the  running  gear,  such 
as  the  buntlines  and  clewlines  and  leechlines,  and 
the  violent  thrashing  and  slatting  when  sheets,  tacks, 
and  halliards  are  let  go  in  a  breeze  of  wind  or  during 
squalls,  give  rise  to  chafes,  rents,  and  holes,  which 
have  to  be  carefully  attended  to.  Besides  all  this, 
the  ends  of  all  the  ropes  are  whipped  to  prevent  them 
being  unlaid,  whilst  grummets,  man-ropes,  yoke-ropes 
for  the  boats  are  made  at  odd  times ;  the  latter,  called 
fancy  ropes,  are  pointed  at  the  ends  by  unlaying  a 
few  inches  and  again  laying  up  the  fibres  in  "  knittles," 
which  are  laid  up  together,  decreasing  towards  the 
point,  where  they  are  securely  finished  off.  All  these 
and  a  hundred  other  things  are  being  always  done 
during  fine  weather  on  deck,  and  the  work  is  only 
intermitted  for  the  actual  working  of  the  ship — haul- 
ing on  the  braces,  shortening  and  making  sail,  etc. 
There  is  a  story  of  a  mate  who  was  at  his  wits'  ends 
to  find  a  job  for  the  men,  and  he  said  as  much  to  the 
captain.  I 

"  Never  mind,"  said  the  latter.     "  You  just  listen 
to  what  the  men  say  when  they  go  to  dinner.     They 


320  TUB  SHELLBACK:. 

know  as  well  as  we  do  what  has  to  be  done.     One  of 
them  is  sure  to  let  out  something." 

So  the  mate  listened  and  heard : 

"Well,  I  wonder  what  the  next  bloomin'  job'll  be, 
Bill?" 

The  reply  was : 

"  Why,  the  bloomin'  long-boat  ain't  broken  up  yet 
nor  the  keel  ain't  holystoned,"  was  the  reply  from 
another  tarry-fis ted  joker. 

The  mate  said  to  himself : 

"  Ah !  I  never  thought  of  that." 

So  when  the  port- watch  came  on  deck  he  called 
to  the  boatswain : 

"  Bosun !  Send  along  the  port- watch  to  break  up 
the  long-boat." 

The  men  lumbered  along,  and  began  to  tear  the 
best  boat  in  the  ship  to  pieces.  Just  at  that  moment 
the  captain  came  on  deck. 

" Hullo!"  he  cried.  "What  in  thunder  are  you 
about,  Mr. ? " 

"Well,  sir,"  said  the  mate,  "you  reckoned  the 
men  would  know  as  well  as  you  what  work  was  to 
be  done,  and  you  told  me  to  listen  to  them.  I  heard 
them  say  the  long-boat  was  to  be  broken  up  and  the 
keel  holystoned.  They're  at  the  boat  now.  But,  if 
you  like,  I'll  take  them  off  and  set  'em  to  work  at  the 
keel"  And  he  grinned  at  the  captain. 


APPENDIX.  321 

"  I  think,  Mr. ,"  said  the  latter,  "  I  think  you 

had  better  conclude  in  future  to  know  better  than 
the  men." 

This  is  probably  a  yarn,  but  se  non  e  vero  b  ben 
trovato.  It  goes,  however,  to  show  how  an  officer's 
wits  must  often  be  set  to  work  to  keep  the  ship's 
company  employed. 

Now  just  let  us  consider  the  work  of  a  sailor, 
and  his  mode  of  life.  In  the  first  place,  he  lives 
in  the  forecastle,  facetiously  called  "the  seamen's 
parlour."  Most  forecastles  are  alike,  and  they  are 
certainly  not  havens  of  bliss.  The  forecastle  of 
the  Altamont  was  not  such  a  bad  den  as  I  have 
seen  in  some  ships.  It  was  roomy,  but  very  dark. 
Entrance  was  gained  by  means  of  a  hatch  in  the 
deck.  There  were  no  hammocks,  but  a  row  of 
bunks  ran  round  the  sides  of  the  ship  in  tiers  of 
two,  one  above  the  other;  alongside  the  bunks 
were  the  men's  chests,  which  served  at  once  as 
tables,  chairs,  and  lounges.  Everywhere  could  be 
seen  oilskins,  monkey  jackets,  dungarees,  and  sea- 
boots,  hanging  to  the  stanchions  of  the  bunks.  When 
a  spell  of  wet  weather  occurred,  it  may  be  imagined 
what  the  smell  was  arising  from  twenty  or  thirty 
suits  of  wet  clothes,  and  from  as  many  pairs  of  boots. 

The  only  light  was  shed  by  a  swinging  oil  lamp 
of  tin,  with  a  spout  like  a  tea-kettJe,  which  held 


322  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  flaring,  spluttering  wick  In  fine  weather  the 
men  did  not  use  the  forecastle  much,  but  preferred 
eating  and  sleeping  on  deck.  The  great  windlass 
barrel  took  up  a  considerable  part  of  the  cramped 
accommodation,  and  generally  there  was  water 
running  along  the  deck  under  the  men's  chests, 
which  oozed  in  from  the  sides,  from  overhead,  or 
from  the  hawse-pipes.  Add  to  all  this  discomfort 
the  noise  occasioned  by  the  thunderous  blows  of 
the  seas  as  they  struck  the  bows  and  fell  in  tons 
on  the  deck  overhead,  and  it  will  be  conceded  that 
Jack  has  a  rather  hard  time  of  it  below  as  well 
as  on  deck.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that 
at  the  time  I  write  of,  few  sailors  had  any  ide/<  of 
a  greater  elysium  than  the  public-house.  As 
as  a  ship's  crew  were  paid  off,  they  made 
tracks  for  some  favourite  public-house,  -v^d  had 
a  drink  all  round.  I  do  not  wish  it  to  be  under- 
stood that  they  went  to  the  public-house,  gave  the 
landlord  their  money,  and,  like  the  old-fashioned 
Australian  shepherd,  set  themselves  to  work  to 
drink  it  all  in  one  bout.  Jack,  as  a  i-ule,  does 
not  care  for  such  brutish  work  as  that.  He  is  a 
jovial,  convivial  soul,  fond  of  singing  and  dancing. 
He  likes  the  company  of  women,  and  unfortun- 
ately for  him  the  class  of  women  he  generally 
gets  in  tow  with  is  that  of  merciless  harpies 


APPENDIX.  323 

who  drink  with  him,  dance  with  him,  coax  him 
and  pet  him,  and  rob  him  of  his  hard-earned 
money  at  the  same  time.  If  he  should  find  the 
woman  out  in  her  robberies,  all  he  does  is  to  get 
rid  of  her  with  a  "  Sheer  off,  my  lass.  You  and 
me's  got  to  part  company.  Come  and  have  a 
glass  for  old  acquaintance*  sake,  and  kiss  good-bye." 
So  he  pays  for  a  couple  of  drinks,  perhaps  gives 
her  a  dollar  or  two,  and  straightway  falls  into  the 
snares  of  another,  although  he  swears  that  Dolly  Mops 
isn't  going  to  send  him  to  sea  again  before  his  time. 

But  all  old  "shells"  do  not  spend  their  money 
in  this  way.  Many  of  them  have  mothers,  wives 
and  sweethearts  at  home,  and  after  one  night's 
carouse  ashore  with  their  mates,  they  make  their 
way  home,  and  after  a  few  days,  or  weeks,  they 
leave  them  all  the  money  they  can  possibly  spare, 
and  go  off  to  ship  for  another  long  voyage.  Some 
of  the  younger  ones,  who  have  ambition  to  rise 
in  their  calling  and  to  reach  the  quarter-deck, 
go  to  a  nautical  school  after  every  voyage,  and 
qualify  themselves  for  the  position  of  second  mate. 
Such  men,  who  have,  as  they  say  at  sea,  "  crawled 
in  at  the  hawse-pipes " — that  is,  risen  from  the 
forecastle — often  make  the  best  and  ablest  of  mates 
and  masters.  They  have  learned  by  experience 
the  troubles  and  trials  of  the  foremast  hands  which 


324  THE  SHELLBACK. 

few  who  have  got  in  "  through  the  cabin  windows " 
have  any  idea  of  beyond  what  comes  under  their 
immediate  notice  as  officers.  But  hundreds,  thou- 
sands of  men  never  rise  beyond  the  rank  of  A.B., 
or  able  seaman.  Many  men  who  take  to  the  sea 
for  a  living  find  too  late  that  they  have  mistaken 
their  vocation,  and  go  to  sea  year  after  year  as 
ordinary  seamen. 

The  difference  between  an  able  seaman  and  an 
ordinary  seaman  is  this:  The  able  seaman  has 
passed  through  his  apprenticeship  as  a  boy  in  the 
forecastle,  or  perhaps  as  an  apprentice  aft.  He 
has  learnt  to  hand  reef  and  steer.  He  can  make, 
mend  rope,  or  put  a  cloth  in  a  sail.  He  knows 
every  knot,  bend,  and  splice  which  sailor  ingenuity 
has  invented.  He  can  carry  out  any  given  order, 
and  often  anticipate  one,  and  stands  by  till  it  is 
given.  On  the  blackest  night,  with  a  furious  gale 
lashing  the  sea  into  vast  crests  and  cavernous 
hollows,  when  it  is  impossible  to  tell  where  the 
sea  ends  and  the  sky  begins,  then  it  is  that  the 
A.B.  shows  what  he  is  made  o£  He  can  put  his 
hand  on  any  rope,  tack,  sheet,  clew-line,  bunt-line, 
halliard,  or  downhaul  without  the  use  of  his  eyes. 
He  will  run  aloft  at  such  times  and  pass  an  ear- 
ring as  unconcernedly  as  if  he  were  sitting  jockeying 
a  spar  on  deck  He  does  not  know  what  fear  means. 


APPENDIX.  325 

On  board  the  Altamont  our  boatswain  was 
typical  of  this  class.  He  knew  his  work,  and  was 
a  thoroughgoing  old  shellback,  although  only  about 
thirty  years  of  age.  No  one  could  ever  get  to  the 
weather  earring  at  reef- topsails  as  quickly  as  he. 
I  have  seen  him,  when  by  accident  half  a  dozen 
men  got  on  to  the  yard  before  him,  get  on  to  the 
foot  rope,  and  calling  out,  "  Hurrah,  bullies !  Hold 
on  by  your  eyelids !  Knickerbocker's  round  you !  *' 
would  haul  himself  out  beyond  them  by  holding 
on  to  them.  It  was  no  use  anyone  trying  to  move 
on  till  he  had  passed,  as  he  would  have  fallen,  and 
probably  dragged  the  other  man  with  him;  and  at 
the  angle  at  which  the  ship  was  then  lying  over, 
a  fall  from  the  weather  yardarm  meant  death  by 
falling  on  the  deck.  Many  a  time  he  ran  up  ahead 
of  the  others,  and  whilst  they  would  be  crawling  out 
by  the  foo tropes,  every  finger  cramped  into  the  jack- 
stay,  he  would  slide  down  the  lift  and  have  his  earring 
passed  and  be  singing  out  to  haul  out  to  windward 
before  half  the  men  were  laying  out  on  the  yard. 

As  long  as  the  ship  will  hold  together  the  A.B. 
will  stand  by  and  obey  orders.  I  have  seen  ships 
at  sea  with  the  pumps  going,  sending  up  clear 
water  in  streams,  and  only  kept  from  sinking  by 
dint  of  sheer  pumping.  Nothing  harasses  the  men 
so  much  as  this  work,  especially  when  the  pumps 


326  THE  SHELLBACK. 

are  manned  in  every  watch.  We  passed  one  ship 
off  Cape  Horn,  wallowing  in  the  huge  cavernous 
seas  from  the  icy  south,  and  were  close  enough  to 
see  that  she  must  be  in  a  very  bad  way,  for  the 
pumps  were  clanking  dismally,  and  we  could  see 
the  bilge  pumps  going.  Thick,  yellow,  muddy- 
looking  water  was  pouring  from  her  scuppers, 
showing  that  the  water  had  invaded  the  guano 
in  the  hold.  In  the  face  of  the  dreary  voyage 
before  them,  with  the  certainty  of  having  to  pump 
the  whole  way  home,  and  the  great  probability  of 
never  reaching  it,  the  gallant  crew  gave  us  a  cheer 
as  we  passed,  while  the  captain  and  mates  waved  a 
jolly  farewell  to  us,  as  if  their  ship  were  as  tight 
as  a  bottle,  and  they  were  only  making  a  fine 
weather  trip  across  the  Channel.  Such  is  the  pluck 
of  British  merchant  seamen  of  the  old  stamp.  I 
will  back  them  against  any  other  class  of  men  for 
growling,  but  when  courage,  endurance,  and  self- 
denial  are  demanded  they  are  never  found  wanting. 

I  have  seen  a  ship  come  into  an  Australian 
port — she  was  a  brig  which  had  been  out  cruising 
for  three  years  on  a  trading  voyage  about  the  South 
Sea  Islands — I  have  seen  her  come  into  port  at 
Townsville  in  North  Queensland  "  frapped  " — that 
is,  chains  were  passed  round  the  vessel  beneath  her 
bottom  and  round  over  her  decks,  the  chains  being 


APPENDIX.  327 

hove  taut  with  handspikes.  This  was  done  to  pre- 
vent her  falling  to  pieces,  and  yet  the  old  sea-dog 
who  owned  and  sailed  her  considered  her  quite  safe ! 
She  was  seized  by  a  British  man-of-war  for  some 
breach  of  the  Queensland  Polynesian  Labour  Act.  This 
occurred  in  1872  or  1873,  I  forget  exactly  which. 

Now  in  one  of  those  admirable  sea  stories  of 
Mr.  Clark  Russell,  I  have  read  of  a  similar  occur- 
rence. It  is  told  in  "  The  Mystery  of  the  Ocean 
Star"  (Hazardous  Voyages),  where  an  instance  is 
given  of  "  the  triumph  of  spirit  and  perseverance." 
In  this  case  the  ship  had  been  "frapped"  as  I  have 
described ;  the  decks  and  sides  were  covered  with 
canvas,  and  her  back  was  "  hogged "  (broken).  She 
had  left  Bombay  on  the  16th  December,  and  was 
off  Spithead  on  the  llth  July  following,  having 
been  seven  months  making  the  passage,  and  most 
of  that  time  in  this  condition.  So  badly  damaged 
was  she  that  the  shipwrights  and  caulkers  who 
had  gone  on  board  to  make  repairs  were  afraid  to 
take  off  the  frapping,  and  left  the  ship  in  a  hurry 
for  fear  she  might  fall  to  pieces  and  sink  under 
them.  What  must  we  think  of  the  dogged  pluck 
and  patient  endurance  of  the  seamen  who  stuck 
to  their  ship  in  such  desperate  straits  ? 

These  are  the  circumstances  in  which  the 
able  seaman  shows  the  stuff  he  is  made  o£ 


328  THE  SHELLBACK. 

The  ordinary  seaman  is  a  man  who  knows  some- 
thing about  the  work  on  board  ship,  but  is  never 
entrusted  with  any  important  job.  I  never  saw 
an  ordinary  seaman  able  to  turn  in  a  dead-eye  or 
put  a  cloth  in  a  sail,  or  even  rope  a  sail.  His 
duties  are  confined  mainly  to  washing  decks,  tar- 
ring down,  taking  his  trick  at  the  wheel,  and  going 
aloft  to  furl  royals  and  topgallant  sails.  At  reef 
topsails  he  generally  lays  out  between  the  bent 
and  the  yardarm  and  knots  the  reef  points.  Even 
this  last  work  he  will  often  bungle  by  making 
Granny's  knots*  instead  of  reef  knots.  Many 
ordinary  seamen,  however,  turn  out  first-class  A.B.'s. 
I  think,  taking  the  general  work  of  a  ship  into  con- 
sideration, that  a  sailor  has  far  better  times  than 
a  shore  labourer — that  is,  where  the  captain  and 
officers  are  humane  men,  and  good  seamen  them- 
selves. Captains  and  mates  who  are  not  thoroughly 
up  in  every  detail  of  working  a  ship  often  harass 
the  crew  unnecessarily.  All  hands  are  called  when 
one  watch  would  suffice  for  the  work.  Sail  is 
taken  in  and  made  again  under  the  sudden  im- 
pulse of  the  moment,  and  the  men  are  robbed  of 
their  rest,  whilst  there  is  no  corresponding  benefit 
to  ship  or  owners. 

A  sailor's  day's  work  may  be  said  to  begin  at 

*  Knots  that  "  run,"  i.e.  do  not  hold. 


APPENDIX.  329 

eight  bells  in  the  second  dog  watch — that  is,  at 
8  p. in.  The  crew  are  divided  into  two  watches, 
port  and  starboard.  The  mate  always  takes  the 
port  watch,  the  second  mate  (or  "  dickey ")  the  star- 
board, called  the  captain's  watch.  The  third  mate  is  in 
the  port  and  the  boatswain  in  the  starboard  watch. 
These  watches  are  so  arranged  that  the  same 
watch  is  not  on  deck  at  the  same  hours  every  day. 
If  the  watches  were  all  four  hours  long,  it  is  clear 
that  the  men  who  go  on  watch  at  8  p.m.  one 
night  will  go  on  deck  at  the  same  hour  every 
night,  and  thus  would  have  only  four  hours  below 
between  8  p.m.  and  8  a.m.  But  the  watch  from 
4  p.m.  to  8  p.m.  is  divided  into  what  are  called 
dog  watches  of  two  hours  each.  Thus,  when  the 
port  watch  comes  off  at  4  p.m.,  the  starboard  watch 
takes  the  deck  till  6  p.m.,  when  the  port  watch  is 
again  on  duty  till  8  p.m.  This  breaks  the  con- 
tinuity, and  gives  each  watch  "  eight  hours  in "  on 
alternate  nights.  As  a  rule,  the  men  are  not 
expected  to  go  below  in  the  dog  watches.  They 
usually  sit  about  and  mend  clothes,  read,  or  do 
anything  they  please  to  pass  the  time.  I  suppose 
they  are  called  dog  watches  because  they  have  an 
eye  about  them,  although  they  are  not  actually  on 
duty — watching,  like  a  dog  sleeps,  with  one  eye 
lifting.  I  soon  got  so  used  to  turning  in  at  breakfast 


330 


THE  SHELLBACK. 


or  dinner  time  that  I  could  go  to  sleep  at  those  hours 
as  easily  as  at  night;  but  I  do  not  know  at  what 
hour  a  hard- worked  ship's  boy  could  not  go  to  sleep. 

At  eight  bells  our  watch — say  the  port — goes 
below  to  sleep,  the  starboard  remaining  on  deck  in 
charge  of  the  second  mate.  The  watch  below  turns 
in,  and  the  men  get  all  the  sleep  they  can  until 
eight  bells  (midnight),  when  they  are  roused  up 
by  a  roar  down  the  forecastle  hatch: 

"  Port  watch,  ahoy  !  Eight  bells,  below  there  ! 
Turn  out !  Don't  you  hear  the  good  news  ? "  this 
accompanied  by  the  pounding  of  a  handspike  on 
the  deck  immediately  above  the  sleepers'  heads.  In 
two  or  three  minutes  all  are  out.  One  man  goes 
aft  to  relieve  the  wheel,  two  relieve  the  look-out 
men  forward,  and  the  starboard  watch  then  goes 
below.  The  boys  rouse  out  the  mate,  who  relieves 
the  deck — i.e.  takes  over  charge  from  the  second 
mate.  The  two  officers  have  a  few  moments'  con- 
versation relative  to  the  courses  steered,  the  state 
of  the  wind,  speed  of  the  ship,  or  any  other  topic 
of  duty  or  interest.  Then  the  second  mate  retires 
to  his  cabin,  and  the  chief  officer  stumps  the  weather 
side  of  the  quarter-deck,  the  two  boys  of  his  watch 
the  lee  side. 

In  some  ships  the  watch  on  deck  in  fine 
weather  are  allowed  to  sit  about  and  doze,  but  the 


APPENDIX.  331 

look-out  men  must  bore  holes  in  their  eyes  to 
assist  their  vision.  Every  half  hour  one  of  the 
boys  strikes  the  after  bell,  and  the  number  of  strokes 
is  repeated  immediately  by  the  ship's  bell  forward. 
Every  fourth  hour  eight  bells  is  struck,  the  time 
being  calculated  from  noon,  when  the  observations 
are  taken.  The  half  hours  are  odd  numbers;  thus 
half-past  twelve  is  one  bell,  half-past  four  and 
half-past  eight  are  one  bell;  noon,  4  p.m.,  8  p.m., 
midnight,  4  a.m.,  and  8  a.m.  are  eight  bells,  and 
so  on.  As  soon  as  the  bell  strikes  during  the  night 
watches,  the  look-out  men  sing  out,  "Port  cat- 
head!" "Starboard  cathead!'1  "All's  well!"  Then 
silence  reigns  until  another  half  hour  has  passed, 
when  the  same  hails  are  repeated.  Every  now 
and  then  the  captain  comes  up  to  have  a  look 
round.  He  seldom  stays  long  unless  it  happen  to 
be  the  second  mate's  (which  is  the  captain's)  watch. 
If  all  is  going  well,  he  rarely  interferes.  But  in 
heavy  weather,  when  all  hands  are  called  to  take 
charge,  the  ship  is  worked  under  his  orders.  During 
the  two  night  watches  from  8  p.m.  to  4  a.m.  there 
is  no  other  work  done  beyond  trimming  the  sails, 
and  when  a  ship  is  running  before  the  trade  winds 
there  is  little  of  that.  The  log  is  hove  every  two 
hours,  and  the  rate  recorded  on  the  slate.  At  eight 
bells  (4  a.m.)  the  cook  is  called,  and  he  sets  to 


332  THE  SHELLBACK. 

work  to  get  the  galley  fire  lighted  and  boil  coffee 
for  the  rnen.  By  two  bells  (5  a.in.)  the  coffee  has 
been  served  out,  and  at  four  bells  (6  a.m.)  the  work 
of  washing  decks  begins.  The  ropes  are  all  coiled 
over  the  belaying  pins,  the  pump  is  rigged,  the 
hose  laid  along  the  deck,  and  brooms  and  holy- 
stones are  served  out.  The  boatswain  or  third 
mate  takes  the  hose,  the  pump  clanks,  and  the 
decks  are  soon  deluged  with  water.  Buckets  are 
filled  from  the  hose,  and  all  corners,  deck-houses, 
hen-coops,  pigsties,  and  boats  are  sluiced  down. 
Then  sand  is  scattered  over  the  decks,  and  the  men 
go  on  their  knees  with  their  "  bibles "  (holystones) 
and  scrub  away.  Many  hands  make  light  work, 
even  of  the  detestable  work  of  holystoning.  The 
scrubbing  is  over  in  an  hour.  The  sand  is  hosed 
off  into  the  scuppers.  Then  "  squeegees "  are  em- 
ployed to  squeeze  the  water  out  of  the  surface  ot 
the  timber.  The  squeegee  is  a  piece  of  galvanised 
rubber  or  gutta-percha  compressed  between  two  flat 
pieces  of  wood.  A  long  handle  is  set  into  the 
wood,  and  the  instrument  is  pushed  along  the  decks, 
and  as  the  rubber  projects  half  an  inch  from  the 
wood,  it  pushes  the  superabundant  water  before  it, 
and  partially  dries  the  decks.  Then  swabs  (great 
bundles  of  ropeyarns  " seized"  to  a  grummet  for  a 
are  flopped  about  from  right  to  left,  and 


APPENDIX.  333 

these  take  up  the  remaining  moisture.  The  running 
gear  is  then  flaked  down  neatly  ready  for  running — 
the  topsail  halliards  coiled  down  in  racks;  the 
gratings,  which  have  been  duly  scrubbed,  are  re- 
placed at  the  wheel  and  in  front  of  the  cabin 
companion  way.  Then  the  fowls  and  pigs  are  fed. 
Meanwhile  all  the  brass-work  has  been  polished 
with  bath  brick  and  oil,  the  wheel  has  also  been 
polished,  the  wheel  ropes  attended  to,  and  by  seven 
bells  the  ship  has  resumed  her  usual  neat  appear- 
ance. Buckets,  brushes,  holystones,  etc.,  have  all 
been  stowed  in  the  lockers.  The  mate  off  duty 
goes  to  breakfast,  the  watch  below  are  roused  out, 
and  have  to  finish  their  breakfast  and  be  on  deck 
by  eight  bells  to  relieve  the  watch  on  deck.  The 
latter  then  go  below,  get  their  breakfast,  and  turn 
in  if  they  so  please,  till  half-past  eleven,  which  is 
their  dinner  hour.  At  that  time  the  captain, 
officers,  and  apprentices  are  all  on  deck  to  take  the 
sun.  As  soon  as  the  sextant  observations  show  the 
sun  to  be  crossing  the  meridian,  the  captain  calls 
out,  "Eight  bells!" 

"Make  it  eight  bells  then,  one  of  you,"  says  the  mate. 

The  observations  are  then  compared  by  the 
officers.  The  apprentices  show  their  sextants  to  the 
captain,  and  he  sends  them  below  to  dinner  and  to 
work  out  the  "day's  work,"  as  it  is  called. 


334 


THE  SHELLBACK. 


By  the  "day's  work"  is  meant  the  calculation 
of  the  ship's  position  as  to  latitude  at  noon,  both 
by  observation  of  the  altitude  of  the  sun  and  by 
"  dead  reckoning."  The  longitude  also  has  to  be 
calculated,  and  so,  by  means  of  the  two,  the  ship's 
position  fixed. 

Dead  reckoning  is  a  means  of  obtaining  the 
position  of  the  ship,  when  no  sun,  moon  or  stars 
are  visible,  by  means  of  the  distance  run  by  log, 
and  by  noting  the  courses  steered.  It  is  only  a 
makeshift,  but  is  very  necessary  at  times,  and  our 
captain,  sun  or  no  sun,  instructed  us  to  make 
both  calculations  and  compare  them  every  day. 

Although  I  said  that  the  seaman's  day's  work 
begins  at  8  p.m.,  it  must  not  be  understood  that 
the  sea-day  begins  then.  The  sea- day  is  calculated 
from  noon  of  one  day  to  noon  of  the  next.  The  last 
watch  ends  at  4  p.m.,  when  the  two  dog  watches  begin. 

These  have  already  been  explained.  During  the 
day  watches,  the  crew  are  employed  on  any  neces- 
sary work,  such  as  sail  mending,  splicing  and  serving 
ropes,  putting  on  and  changing  chafing-gear,  painting 
and  scraping  boats,  oars  and  masts,  making  sinnit, 
spun-yarn,  sword  and  thrummed  mats— all  light 
work  requiring  no  heavy  manual  labour.  The 
work  is  only  interrupted  by  an  occasional  call  to 
haul  the  yard  round,  shorten  sail,  reef  topsails,  or 


APPENDIX.  335 

make  sail.  Thus  in  ordinarily  fine  weather  the 
work,  although  constant,  cannot  be  called  laborious. 
Besides,  there  are  many  interludes.  Men  are  called  to 
numberless  trifling  jobs,  which  might  come  under  the 
head  of  time-killers  rather  than  under  that  of  work. 

The  apprentices  have  even  easier  times,  because 
they  have  to  learn  their  navigation,  take  a  trick 
at  the  helm,  learn  knotting  and  splicing,  and  a 
variety  of  things  necessary  for  a  seaman  and  an 
officer  to  know.  They  also  have  the  duty  of 
heaving  the  log  every  two  hours.  When  the  officer 
of  the  watch  wishes  to  know  the  rate  at  which 
the  ship  is  sailing,  he  gives  the  order  :  "  Heave 
the  log."  One  boy  immediately  gets  the  reel  on 
which  the  log  line  is  wound,  the  other  fetches 
the  minute-glass.  The  mate  arranges  the  log  "chip," 
which  is  a  triangular  piece  of  wood,  one  side  of 
which  is  weighted  to  enable  it  to  float  upright. 
A  short  lanyard  furnished  with  a  wooden  peg 
fitting  into  a  socket  on  the  line  causes  it  to  main- 
tain the  upright  position.  The  mate  runs  off*  a 
few  yards  of  the  line  which  he  coils  up  in  his 
hand  and  throws  overboard  with  the  chip.  This 
slack  line  allows  the  chip  to  get  well  clear  of  the 
ship's  wake.  When  this  occurs,  he  calls  out : 

"Turn!"  The  boy  turns  the  glass,  and  the  sand 
begins  to  run  into  the  lower  globe.  The  line,  if 


336  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  ship  is  going  very  fast,  runs  out  at  a  rapid 
rate  from  the  reel  held  over  the  boy's  head  by 
both  handles.  So  fast  does  it  run  that  sometimes 
the  reel  boy  has  to  check  the  speed  to  prevent 
a  foul  as  the  line  jumps  from  it.  When  the  sand 
has  all  run  out,  the  boy  calls  out  "  Stop ! "  upon 
which  the  mate  instantly  checks  the  line,  reads 
off  the  number  of  the  last  knot  nearest  the  reel, 
and  records  it  on  the  slate.  He  then  gives  a  jerk 
or  two  to  release  the  chip,  which,  floating  perpen- 
dicularly, offered  resistance  to  the  water,  and  con- 
sequently remained  almost  stationary  during  the 
running  out  of  the  line.  It  now  floats  flat  on  the 
water,  and  two  or  three  boys  walk  it  in  whilst 
the  other  winds  it  up  on  the  reel. 

In  heavy  weather,  when  the  ship  is  battling 
with  a  mountainous  sea,  and  a  furious  gale  is 
blowing,  all  work  is  stopped.  The  men  stand  by 
in  their  oilskins,  for  at  any  moment  the  ship's 
safety  may  depend  upon  their  alertness  and 
prompt  obedience  to  orders.  Besides,  no  work 
could  well  be  carried  on  with  the  ship's  decks 
constantly  flooded  with  water,  and  sometimes  swept 
from  end  to  end. 

As  long  as  it  is  possible  to  work  the  ship  with 
one  watch,  most  captains  will  do  so.  Thus  the  men 
have  nearly  four  hours'  rest  after  four  hours'  work 


APPENDIX.  337 

In  my  time  seamen's  wages  were  twenty  dollars 
a  month,  boys  ten  dollars.  Besides  this,  they  had 
their  lodging  and  food,  such  as  they  were,  a 
glass  of  grog  every  day,  and  tobacco  of  the  best 
kind  which  paid  no  duty.  The  life  is  a  very 
healthy  one,  as  the  appearance  of  all  sailors  will 
testify.  Contrast  with  this  the  life  of  a  farm  labourer 
with  wages  at  the  rate  of  ten  or  twelve  shillings  a 
week  in  England,  up  at  four  or  five  in  the  morning, 
slaving  at  downright  hard  manual  labour  till  dark, 
living  on  bread  and  bacon  or  cheese,  buttermilk  or 
small  beer.  Or  take  an  Australian  farm  labourer 
to-day.  ,He  gets  from  eight  to  twelve  shillings  a 
week  and  rations  of  salt  beef,  flour,  tea,  sugar, 
besides  anything  else  he  can  afford  to  buy.  He 
lives  either  in  a  slab  hut  with  mud  floor  or 
in  a  barn,  and  often  has  to  cook  for  himself 
Contrast  these  with  Jack's  life  and  fare. 

His  food  in  port  I  have  already  shown  to  be 
excellent.  At  sea,  naturally,  he  fares  harder.  His 
rations  consist  of  salt  beef,  salt  pork,  biscuit,  tea, 
coffee  or  chocolate  (the  latter  ready  for  him  when 
he  turns  out  in  the  morning),  salt  fish,  beans,  and 
molasses.  The  cook  often  makes  him  a  splendid 
sea-pie.  On  Wednesdays  and  Sundays,  and  on 
special  holidays,  he  gets  as  much  "duff,"  or  plum- 
pudding  as  he  can  eat,  and  every  evening  in  some 
w 


338  THE  SHELLBACK. 

ships  he  gets  a  tot  of  grog  to  keep  his  digestion 
in  order.  When  fish  or  porpoises  are  caught  Jack 
gets  his  share.  When  he  is  sick,  the  captain  has 
a  medicine  chest  and  does  his  best  for  him.  If 
he  is  on  board  an  emigrant  ship  there  is  a  doctor, 
and  any  amount  of  extra  provisions. 

As  for  his  clothes,  any  good  sailor  can  make  and 
mend  his  own  sea  clothes,  and  if  he  keeps  from 
drink  can  well  afford  to  buy  his  shore-going  togs. 
As  to  his  lodging,  let  us  take  another  look 
into  Jack's  parlour.  It  is  always  more  or  less  like 
what  I  have  described  in  the  case  of  the  Altamont. 
It  is  situated  in  the  bows,  and  its  boundaries  run 
right  up  to  the  eyes  of  the  ship.  The  windlass 
barrel  is  there  at  his  parlour  door,  the  hawse- 
pipes  are  also  there.  In  deep-waisted  ships  it  is 
entered  by  a  door  from  the  main  decks.  In 
flush-decked  ships  Jack  descends  by  a  hatchway 
and  down  a  ladder.  There  is  no  light  except 
what  enters  by  the  door  or  passes  down  through 
the  hatch.  In  some  ships  there  may  be  a  port- 
hole, but  I  never  saw  one.  The  bunks  are 
ranged  round  two  sides  in  two  tiers,  meeting  at 
the  head.  Each  man's  chest  is  a  suite  of  furniture 
in  itself,  serving  as  chair,  table,  wardrobe  and 
bookcase.  In  all  directions  may  be  seen  hanging 
up  suits  of  oilskin,  sou'-wester  hats,  ditty  bags,  and 


APPENDIX.  339 

possibly  sacks,  which  contain  the  articles  so 
necessary  to  a  sailor's  comfort,  such  as  needles 
and  thread,  buttons,  palm  and  needles,  etc.,  etc, 
Here  and  there  may  be  seen  specimens  of  their 
skill  in  wool  mat  making,  knitting,  embroidery, 
wood  carving.  Perhaps  also  there  will  be  a  fiddle 
hanging  up.  These  things  constitute  the  whole  of 
the  furniture  of  Jack's  drawing-room.  But  what 
more  does  he  want  ?  These  are  the  things  he  has 
been  used  to  from  the  time  he  was  a  boy  in  a 
Newfoundland  fishing  smack  or  a  North  River  sloop. 
He  has  few  books,  not  more  than  a  corner  of  his 
chest  will  hold.  He  is  not  given  to  writing,  so  a 
table  is  not  required.  In  fine  weather  he  prefers 
to  sleep  on  deck  and  spend  his  wratch  below  there. 
In  bad  weather  he  is  almost  constantly  on  deck. 
When  he  goes  below  it  is  usually  to  tumble  into 
his  bunk  and  go  sound  asleep. 

If  the  reader  has  ever  been  in  a  ship's  fore- 
castle when  the  ship  was  hove  to  in  a  gale,  or 
boring  her  way  into  the  teeth  of  it,  braced  up 
sharp  with  the  yards  within  six  points  of  the  wind, 
he  will  remember  the  awful  sounds  which  greeted 
his  ears.  The  thunder  of  blows  delivered  by  the 
seas  against  the  bows,  blows  whose  violence  seemed 
capable  of  bursting  through  the  solid  oaken  walls; 
the  grinding,  creaking,  straining  and  agonised 


340  THE  SHELLBACK* 

shrieking  of  every  beam  and  timber;  the  crash 
overhead  as  an  avalanche  of  green  seas  fell  on  the 
forecastle  head— all  these  varied  sounds,  intensified 
by  their  proximity  to  the  forecastle,  which  invade 
Jack's  home,  may  be  awful  to  a  landsman,  but  to 
the  sailor  who  is  used  to  them,  they  convey  no 
impression  beyond  a  feeling  of  content  that  he  is 
in  warmth  and  security. 

No;  Jack's  quarters  may  not  be  luxurious,  nor 
sweet-scented,  nor  dry,  but  such  as  they  are,  he  is 
as  happy  there  as  the  skipper  is  aft,  and  has 
been  heard  to  say,  on  coming  down  half-frozen 
from  his  middle  watch,  when  off  the  Horn: 

"  Snug  as  a  bug  in  a  rug  here,  Billy,  eh  ?  I 
wonder  how  them  misfortnit  beggars  ashore  is 
weatherin'  this  ?  " 

I  am,  of  course,  not  describing  seamen's  life  as  it  is 
in  all  ships.  The  voyage,  for  instance,  which  this  tale 
describes  would  not  bear  out  such  a  description. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  because,  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages,  I  have  written  mainly  about  the 
doings  of  the  boys,  that  the  foremast  hands  had 
a  good  time  of  it.  On  board  most  of  the  American 
ships  their  life  was  worse  than  that  of  a  dog. 
They  were  hard-worked,  bullied,  thrashed,  knocked 
down,  and  kicked  on  all  possible  occasions.  I 
have  been  an  eye-witness  of  these  things  over 


APPENDIX.  341 

and  over  again.  On  one  occasion  I  saw  a  mate 
jump  down  into  the  hold,  seize  a  guano-shovel, 
and  cut  a  man  down  senseless  with  a  furious 
blow  on  the  head,  following  this  up  by  kicking 
the  prostrate  man  savagely  in  the  ribs  and  in  the 
face.  Not  one  of  the  other  men  dared  to  interfere. 

What  would  they  have  got  for  their  pains? 
The  mate  would  have  used  his  revolver,  and  they 
knew  well  enough  that  if  they  killed  him  they 
would  be  placed  in  the  dock  and  condemned  to 
death  for  murder  ;  but  if  he  killed  them,  he 
would  be  praised  for  his  prompt  action  and  pluck 
in  thus  preventing  a  mutiny  which  would  have 
endangered  the  safety  of  the  ship  and  the  lives 
of  the  other  officers  as  well  as  his  own.  No;  in 
those  seas,  and  under  the  American  flag,  there 
was  then  no  safety  or  justice  for  poor  Jack.  His 
officers  were  savage  tyrants,  and  his  shipmates 
were  a  mixture  of  Danes,  Swedes,  Germans,  Italians, 
and  Greeks,  amongst  whom  there  was  no  cohesion, 
and  who,  very  often,  as  was  the  case  in  whalers, 
were  the  cream  of  the  scum  of  the  crimping 
houses  of  New  York,  Boston,  and  San  Francisco. 

I  know  very  well  that  sailors  must  be  kept 
well  in  hand ;  so  must  soldiers,  so  must  even 
schoolboys  —  those  domestic  anarchists  ;  otherwise 
they  will  kick  over  the  traces  and  defy  authority. 


342  THE  SHELLBACK. 

and  once  discipline  is  relaxed,  the  whole  ship's 
company,  the  cargo,  the  passengers,  and  the  ship 
itself  is  endangered.  Therefore,  the  officers  must 
keep  a  taut  hand  over  them. 

But  there  can  be  no  justification  for  the 
atrocious  cruelties  which  I  have  seen  prac- 
tised on  these  helpless  men  in  the  power  of 
tyrants.  Once  let  a  captain  or  mate  get  a  grudge 
against  a  man,  and  that  man's  life  is  not  worth 
living.  He  will  be  worked  up — or  "  hazed,"  as  it 
is  called — until  he  is  unfit  for  duty,  or  dies  in 
consequence  of  the  brutality  of  which  he  has  been 
the  victim. 

Some  mates  invent  ludicrous  punishments.  One 
of  ours,  wishing  to  punish  the  boys  for  going  to 
sleep  in  their  night  watches,  sent  two  on  to  the 
cross-jack  yardarms  and  two  on  to  the  main-yard. 
They  had  to  sit  at  the  outer  yardarm  with  only 
the  lifts  to  hold  on  to.  Every  time  the  bell  struck 
they  were  ordered  to  sing  out,  one  after  the  other, 
"  All's  ruck  in  the  moon ! "  whatever  that  meant. 
They  remained  there  during  the  whole  four  hours' 
watch,  unless  sail  had  to  be  made  or  shortened, 
when  they  did  their  share  of  the  work,  coiled  up 
the  ropes,  and  resumed  their  places. 

I  was  once  ordered  to  go  on  to  the  main -royal 
yard  every  hour  to  see  if  land  were  in  sight,  when 


APPENDIX.  343 

we  knew  we  were  a  thousand  miles  from  any 
known  land.  I  turned  this  punishment  to  my  own 
advantage  afterwards  by  going  aloft  to  report  as 
soon  as  I  had  had  my  morning  coffee  and  holy- 
stoning decks  began.  I  used  to  sit  there  and 
smoke  till  I  saw  the  swabs  at  work  below,  and 
then  came  down  and  solemnly  reported  to  the  mate, 
"No  land  in  sight,  sir."  He  never  stopped  me 
until  he  began  to  have  a  grudge  against  me,  and 
then  I  was  "  worked  up  "  in  a  different  fashion. 

Sometimes  we  were  ordered  to  ride  the  spanker- 
boom.  To  a  landsman  it  would  not  appear  a  very 
difficult  feat  to  sit  straddle-legs  on  a  large  hori- 
zontal spar,  only  seven  or  eight  feet  above  the 
deck,  but,  from  my  experience,  I  prefer  the  royal- 
yard  infinitely.  When  there  is  a  jump  of  a  sea 
on,  that  is  the  time  when  the  lively  steed  has  its 
involuntary  riders.  Every  moment  the  boom  is 
brought  up  with  a  jerk  by  the  port  or  starboard 
tackles.  When  this  sideway  motion  is  over,  a 
plunge  of  the  bows,  with  a  corresponding  lift  of  the 
stern,  causes  the  rider  to  hold  on  tight.  The 
sensation  is  much  like  riding  a  horse  that  shies 
and  pig-jumps.  One  of  our  mates  used  to  arm 
men  with  handspikes  and  make  them  inarch  up 
and  down  the  deck  like  soldiers.  They  hated  this 
more  than  any  other  "  fancy  "  punishment.  "  They 


344  THE  SHELLBACK. 

shipped  as  sailors — not  as  sojers,"  and  it  was  a 
cruel  insult  to  them. 

Everything  in  the  Altamont  was  done  to  make 
the  lives  of  men  and  officers  miserable.  Such  ships, 
thank  God,  and  such  captains,  are  few  and  far 
between;  but  still  both  captains  and  mates  are 
met  with  who  do  not  hesitate  to  work  men  to 
death. 

I  used  to  wonder  how  men  could  be  found  willing 
to  ship  a  second  time  with  the  bullying  captains. 
They  were  all  well  known  to  sailors,  and  yet  they  could 
always  find  crews;  but  the  latter  were  usually  two- 
thirds  "Dutchmen,"  put  on  board  by  the  crimps 
There  was  one  notorious  captain,  "  Bully  Sharp,"  who 
had  great  difficulty  in  getting  a  crew  at  all  times,  his 
cruelties  were  so  well  known  among  the  men.  But  he 
shipped  a  crew  once  who  "  euchred "  him.  Two 
crews  had  been  put  on  board  him  once,  and  both  had 
deserted  before  the  vessel  sailed.  She  was  bound 
from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  round  the  Horn, 
and  the  captain  and  the  mates  showed  their  colours  too 
soon,  so  the  two  crews  left  after  having  been  a  day  or 
two  on  board.  Then  a  third  lot  was  got  together,  and 
duly  came  off.  When  they  got  alongside,  every  man 
was  seen  to  have  a  revolver  lashed  to  his  sea-chest 
The  captain  looked  at  the  revolvers,  then  called  the 
xnen  aft,  and  ordered  them  to  hand  them  over.  The 


APPENDIX.  345 

men  made  no  reply,  but  one  of  them  hailed  some 
shore-boats  to  come  alongside. 

"  What's  that  for  ? "  demanded  the  captain. 

"  Waal,  Capen,"  said  the  spokesman,  "  we  reckon 
'to  keep  our  shoo  tin*  irons,  or  else  we  goes  ashora 
The  chice  is  with  you." 

The  bully  saw  he  had  got  a  crew  who  would  refuse 
to  be  bullied,  so  he  merely  said — 

"  Keep  'em,  and  go  forrard." 

On  their  return  to  New  York,  the  men  said  it  was 
a  most  peaceable  voyage,  and  the  captain  was  the  best 
they  ever  sailed  with.  No  doubt  it  was,  for  the  men 
declared  that  the  first  officer  who  laid  a  hand  on 
them  or  "jagged"  them  would  be  shot,  or  "spilled  in 
the  drink." 

Of  course  it  is  always  a  dangerous  thing  for 
sailors  to  take  the  law  into  their  own  hands.  If  it 
comes  to  shooting  or  knifing  between  officers  and 
crew,  it  is  bound  to  end  badly  for  the  latter,  no 
matter  how  victorious  they  may  be  while  at  sea. 

If  the  captain  shoots  a  man,  it  is  justifiable 
homicide,  for  he  can  always  prove  that  the  safety  of 
the  ship  was  endangered  by  the  mutinous  attitude 
of  the  men,  and  an  American  law-court  invariably 
sides  with  the  captain.  Poor  Jack  has  not  the  ghost 
of  a  chance  there.  The  captain  or  officer  who  kills 
him  is,  as  I  have  said,  praised  for  his  prompt 


346  THE  SHELLBACK. 

and  gallant  action,  but  if  the  sailor  kills  an  officer  in 
self-defence,  or  in  revenge  for  the  brutality  practised 
on  him,  he  is  called  a  murderer,  and  the  poor  friend- 
less man  is  condemned  to  death.  The  captain  is  the 
supreme  arbiter  on  board  his  ship  at  sea,  and  if  he 
has  his  officers  on  his  side,  the  evidence  of  the 
hands  forward  is  not  worth  a  straw. 

Shipping  on  board  of  a  vessel  for  the  first  time 
was,  and  no  doubt  still  is,  always  a  bit  of  a  lottery. 
The  captain  is  the  unknown  quantity,  and  on  his 
character  depend  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  all 
below  him. 

We  on  board  the  Altamont  had  drawn  an 
unlucky  number,  that  was  all.  At  the  same  time  as 
I  was  going  through  my  initiation,  there  were  ships 
about  us  whose  crews  took  a  pride  in  their  ships  and 
in  their  work  because  the  owner  and  the  captain  took 
care  of  the  comfort  and  wellbeing  of  their  men.  The 
worst  tyrants  were  found  aboard  the  American  ships  ; 
but  I  never  heard  a  charge  brought  against  the 
captains  of  starving  their  crews.  That  was  not  one 
of  their  vices.  "  Feed  them  well,  and  work  them 
up,"  seemed  to  be  the  owners'  motto. 

Singular  to  say,  I  heard  to-day  this  very  same 
remark  made  by  an  officer  of  the  Loch  Bredan,  an 
English  ship. 

On    our    ships,    whilst    in  port,  we  fared 


APPENDIX.  347 

All  the  time  we  lay  at  the  islands  we  had  fresh 
roast  beef,  baked  and  boiled  sweet  potatoes,  stewed 
meat  with  onions  and  carrots,  baked  beans  and 
molasses,  dry  hashes  (a  favourite  American  dish) 
boiled  and  fried  mackerel,  a  "duff"  with  molasses  on 
Wednesdays  and  Sundays,  and  tea  or  coffee  at  every 
meal.  This  was  excellent  fare  for  seamen.  The  third 
mate,  carpenter,  and  boatswain  lived  with  us,  and 
took  no  undue  advantage  over  us  in  sharing  out  the 
provisions.  We  had  soft  tack  (baker's  bread)  some- 
times, but  the  usual  thing  was  biscuit.  The  biscuits 
were  excellent  while  they  lasted.  They  were  Ameri- 
can, square  in  shape,  and  quite  white.  Very  different 
was  the  Callao  bread  we  had  to  eat  on  our  passage 
home. 

Many  a  time  have  apprentices  on  board  English 
and  Scotch  ships  been  glad  to  get  some  of  our 
American  biscuits,  not  in  exchange,  for  at  that  time 
we  would  not  have  condescended  to  eat  the  mouldy, 
weevil-infested  bread  provided  for  them.  The  English 
ships  also  used  American  pork,  but  the  Americans 
used  Irish  pork — a  vast  difference.  The  American 
peach-fed  pork  when  put  on  the  table  looked  like 
a  vast  evil-smelling  lump  of  brown  blubber — the  lean 
wanted  looking  for.  The  fat  was  often  eight  inches 
thick — the  lean  one-eighth  of  an  inch.  But  the  Irish 
pork  was  such  as  might  have  been  eaten  at  table 


348  THE  SHELLBACK. 

on  shore—streaky,  white,  and  not  at  all  salt.  These 
Englishmen  did  not  get  as  much  pudding  as  we  did, 
nor  as  much  molasses,  but  they  got  lime-juice  to 
preserve  them  from  the  effect  of  the  salt  provisions. 

However,  putting  all  these  evils  and  counter- 
evils  on  one  side,  there  is  this  in  favour  of  a  sea 
life  as  against  a  life  as  a  labourer  ashore — light 
work,  warm  quarters,  plentiful  though  rough  food, 
fair  wages,  liberty  on  shore  occasionally  when  in 
port,  and,  unless  a  man  ships  in  a  whaler,  an 
engagement  lasting  from  four  to  twelve  montks, 
with  a  re-engagement  at  any  moment  he  pleases. 
Then  there  is  the  Sailors'  Home  for  him  if  he 
chooses  to  go  there,  where  he  can  live  cleanly,  com- 
fortably, and  reasonably.  He  has  opportunities  to 
study  and  rise  in  his  calling,  and  has  the  means 
to  pay  for  instruction. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Jack  before  the 
mast  is  a  drunken,  tarry,  blaspheming,  watch-boiling 
blackguard,  whose  language  is  garnished  with  un- 
intelligible sea  phrases.  Sailors  do  not  indulge  in 
sea  phrases  except  for  amusement.  They  talk  like 
ordinary  mortals.  I  have  heard  a  sailor  exclaim  : 
"My  tarry  toplights  and  topgallant  eyebrows!"  but 
this  was  merely  as  a  joke.  They  never  "shiver 
their  timbers/'  I  don't  think  they  know  what  it 
means.  I  am  sure  I  do  not,  and  I  have  used  the 


APPENDIX.  349 

sea  for  more  than  a  dog-watch.  When  a  sailor 
wants  a  drink  he  does  not  inform  you  that  "he's 
going  to  bring  up  under  the  lee  of  the  '  Three 
Jolly  Sailors,'  let  go  his  mudhook,  and  bowse  up 
his  jib."  That  is  all  nonsense,  and  may  go  down 
on  the  stage  or  in  "  Penny  Dreadfuls."  Sailors 

will  jokingly  talk  of  going  aloft  as  going  "upstairs," 

• 

and  invite  a  friend  into  the  "  drawing-room,"  i.e. 
the  forecastle;  but  sea  lingo  is  not  in  favour  with 
them,  any  more  than  tuning  up  one  of  their 
"shantys"  when  spending  a  carnival  evening.  I 
believe  if  anyone  at  a  sing-song  were  to  start  the 
windlass  shanty  "  Shenendoah,"  beautiful  as  it 
really  is,  he  would  be  told  to  "  stow  that "  and 
give  us  "  Fair,  Fair,  with  Golden  Hair,"  or  "  Mary- 
land," or  "Old  Potomac's  Shore."  They  don't 
dance  hornpipes,  either,  on  every  possible  occasion ; 
but  when  the  fiddle  or  concertina  gets  to  work 
these  hairy  monsters  hug  each  other  and  dance 
a  waltz  or  polka  in  preference. 

In  the  preceding  narrative  a  good  deal  has  been 
said  about  serving  out  "grog,"  and  it  may  seem 
an  extraordinary  thing  that  boys  of  our  age  should 
drink  rum  at  four  in  the  afternoon  and  beer  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  it  must  be  re- 
membered what  fare  we  had  on  the  voyage  home. 
For  months  we  tasted  nothing  but  the  eternal 


35O  THE  SHELLBACK. 

mahogany  beef,  the  greasy  pork,  rotten  salt  fish, 
and  those  abominable  biscuits.  Something  was 
wanted  to  give  us  an  appetite  for  such  food,  and 
to  help  us  to  digest  it.  We  were  allowed  no  cocoa 
or  lime  juice.  Coffee  was  only  to  be  had  in  the 
morning  watch,  and  as  for  our  usual  drink,  the 
water  in  the  scuttle  butt,  that  was  often  so  nauseous 
that  it  was  sickening  even  to  smell  it  Again,  the 
quantity  we  got  was  so  small  that  it  could  do  little 
harm,  and  however  wholesome  it  may  have  been, 
it  was  not  so  delicious  as  to  tempt  us  to  make  a 
practice  of  ruin-drinking  once  we  had  left  the  ship. 
The  captain  once  tried  to  substitute  gin  for  rum. 
The  men  all  came  aft  as  usual,  but  as  soon  as  they 
found  it  was  gin  every  man  refused  it.  When  it 
came  to  our  turn  we  also  declined  to  drink  it. 
The  smell  was  enough  for  us.  We,  however,  were 
not  to  be  let  off.  The  captain  picked  up  the  end 
of  the  main  brace,  and  we  looked  at  the  old  man. 
The  survey  decided  us  to  drink  the  gin.  From 
that  day  to  this  I  have  not  been  able  to  stand 
the  smell  of  the  stuff.  It  always  brings  this  un- 
pleasant quarter  of  an  hour  to  my  recollection. 

No;  we  read  of  lads  at  sea  learning  to  drink 
and  to  use  bad  language,  but  in  reality  these  things 
(at  least  the  drinking)  are  not  learnt  at  sea.  I 
do  not  think  any  man  or  boy  saw  enough  grog 


APPENDIX.  351 

on  board  a  sailing-vessel  to  make  him  see  double. 
As  to  swearing,  they  hear  enough  of  it  from  the 
mates  and  often  from  the  captains,  but  they  hear 
very  little  amongst  the  men.  There  is  more  bad 
language  used  in  the  streets  of  a  town  than  in  a 
ship's  forecastle.  Sailors  undoubtedly  frequently 
use  coarse  and  forcible  expressions,  but  for 
rank  blasphemy  the  forecastle  cannot  hold  a  candle 
to  the  quarter-deck  I  have  seen  a  mate  during 
a  long  calm  whistling  for  a  wind,  and  at  last  throw 
his  cap  on  deck  and  invite  the  Almighty  to  come 
down  and  fi.;ht  him  for  a  wind  and  ten  dollars  a 
side!  I  never  heard  anything  to  equal  that  in  a 
ship's  forecastle.  The  men  are  often  very  gentle 
in  their  language  to  the  boys,  and  use  very  little 
swearing  before  them.  For  drinking  and  swearing, 
and  for  rapidly  acquiring  proficiency  in  these  arts, 
the  shore  is  the  place — not  the  sea.  Of  that  anyone 
who  has  tried  both  must  have  had  ample  evidence. 
So  much  for  what  a  sailor  does  not  do.  A 
few  years  ago  I  went  on  board  a  sailing  vessel  lying 
at  the  wharf,  and  seeing  a  very  respectable  well- 
dressed  man  walking  about  the  dock  smoking  (it 
was  on  a  Sunday),  I  got  into  conversation  with 
him.  From  his  talk  no  one  would  have  dreamed 
of  his  being  a  sailor,  and  as  for  myself,  it  was  over 
twenty  years  since  I  had  left  the  sea  for  a 


352  THE  SHELLBACK. 

shore  life.  I  asked  him  how  long  he  had  been 
at  sea. 

"Let  me  consider,  sir,"  he  said.  "I  went  to  sea 
in  1858,  and  now  it's  December,  1894.  That  makes 
thirty-six  years.  How  long  have  you  used  the  sea  ?  " 

"Me!"  I  said;  "what  makes  you  suppose  I  have 
been  a  sailor?" 

"I  knew  it  the  moment  you  came  over  the  rail. 
A  landsman  never  comes  aboard  like  a  sailorman. 
Then  the  first  thing  you  did  on  the  wharf  was 
to  look  up  aloft  before  you  looked  at  the  ship. 
Am  I  about  right?" 

I  had  to  plead  guilty  to  having  been  at  sea,  and 
to  having  begun  with  my  hands  in  the  tar-bucket 
Shortly  after  that  I  met  the  mate  of  the  ship, 
and  after  introducing  ourselves  to  each  other,  he  said: 

"  I  s'pose  when  you  came  aboard  you  were 
taking  stock  of  those  royal  masts  ? " 

I  wanted  to  see  what  he  would  say,  so  I  echoed: 
"  Eoyal  masts  !  What  are  they  ? " 

"Oh!  no,  sir!  That  won't  do,"  he  said.  "I 
know  a  poker  from  a  pricker.  It's  not  the  first 
time  by  a  long  chalk  that  you've  been  on  the 
weather  side  of  the  poop,  and  mayhap  in  the 
forecastle  too." 

"Well,"  I  suggested,  "those  masts  would  stand 
a  little  scraping,  wouldn't  they  now?" 


APPENDIX.  353 

"  There  you  are,"  he  laughed ;  "  I  knew  when 
I  saw  you  looking  at  them  for  so  long,  what 
you  were  thinking  of." 

After  this  we  struck  up  a  friendship  and  had 
a  long  talk  about  seamen  and  their  woes.  Much 
of  what  I  have  written  on  the  bright  side  of  a 
sailor's  life  received  proof  here.  In  the  bad  times 
of  '94,  the  men  in  that  ship  had  seventeen  shillings 
a  week  clear,  over  and  above  board  and  lodging. 
As  the  mate  said :  "  There's  no  ordinary  working 
man  here  in  Queensland  that  I  can  hear  of  that 
has  five  shillings  clear  at  the  week's  end."  And 
he  was  right. 

When  I  left  the  Altamont,  and  from  pressure 
of  circumstances  had  given  up  all  idea  of  the 
army,  for  which  I  was  originally  intended,  I  thought, 
after  a  spell  ashore,  of  shipping  in  a  whaler,  and 
had  talked  to  some  Dundee  and  New  Bedford 
whaling  men  about  the  life  on  board.  But  when 
I  heard  all  about  it — about  the  dirt  and  smell,  the 
food,  and  the  length  of  voyage,  all  desire  to  become 
a  whaler  rapidly  left  me.  By  comparison,  the  life 
I  had  lately  led  at  sea  was  smooth  water. 

We  boys  used  to  have  many  *  an  argument  in 
our  night  watches  as  to  the  advantage  or  disad- 
vantage of  going  to  sea  "through  the  hawse-pipes" 

and   "  through   the   cabin   windows." 
x 


354  THE  SHELLBACK. 

Barney  maintained  that  by  going  to  sea  before 
the  mast,  a  lad  learnt  his  seamanship  much  quicker 
than  if  he  paid  a  heavy  premium,  mounted  a  lot 
of  "brass  furnishing,"  and  called  himself  a  mid- 
shipman. "Yes/*  someone  would  say,  "but  what 
about  the  navigation  part  of  it,  and  the  education? 
You've  no  chance  for  that  in  a  forecastle.  What 
would  Barton  have  done  if  one  of  his  hands  brought 
a  sextant  on  deck  ?  Besides,  you've  no  inclination 
for  study  in  a  forecastle." 

"Well,  when  you  go  ashore,"  said  Barney,  "you 
go  to  a  navigation  school." 

'•  And  lose  three  or  four  months'  wages,  besides 
spending  all  you've  earned  on  last  voyage,"  said 
Wilkinson.  "  I  believe  in  picking  up  all  you  can 
of  seamanship,  and  going  in  for  navigation  just 
how  and  when  you  can.  Every  month  at  sea  is 
so  much  off  your  time." 

As  to  the  merits  of  the  two  plans,  I  think 
both  have  their  disadvantages.  For  a  delicately 
brought-up,  gentlemanly  boy  to  be  suddenly  plunged 
into  the  society  of  lads  who  have  roughed  it  in  a 
midshipman's  berth  for  some  years,  is  a  trial  to 
him  which  in  some  cases  will  not  be  stood  with 
the  necessary  pluck.  All  male  communities,  whether 
of  boys  or  men,  become  rough  and  ready,  often 
coarse  and  brutal  in  their  conversation  and  dealings 


APPENDIX,  355 

with  each  other,  and  seamen  especially  do  so,  as 
they  are  constantly  away  from  the  refinement  and 
humanising  influence  of  the  other  sex.  If  coarse- 
ness and  tyranny  often  appear  aft,  what  must  it  be 
forward  in  the  forecastle  amongst  a  crowd  of 
generally  illiterate  men  whose  lives  have  been  spent 
in  a  dirty,  evil-smelling,  dark,  wet  forecastle,  varied 
by  periodical  visits  to  some  favourite  public- house 
— men  who  have  been  bullied  and  starved  and 
thrashed  into  abject  submission  to  their  tyrants  ? 
And  yet  there  is  amongst  these  men  a  certain 
nobility  of  character,  a  courage  and  devotion  in  time 
of  danger,  which  go  far  to  condone  their  coarse 
language  and  rough  manners. 

But  still,  such  a  place  is  no  school  for  a  lad 
who  has  been  brought  up  at  home  in  comfort  and 
trained  in  religious  habits.  He  will  first  be  horri- 
fied and  disgusted  at  all  his  surroundings,  and 
eventually  accustom  himself  to  them,  and  possibly 
remain  at  that  level  and  make  no  attempt  to  rise 
above  the  rank  of  A.B.,  or  at  the  most  of  boatswain. 
I  have  seen  numbers  of  cases  of  this  kind.  One 
of  our  men  told  me  that  he  had  run  away  to  sea 
some  twenty  years  before  I  met  him.  His  father 
was  a  wholesale  fruit  merchant  in  Dublin  in  a  large 
way  of  business.  As  a  boy  he  was  sent  to  a 
boarding-school,  and  only  returned  home  for  the 


356  THE  SHELLBACK. 

holidays.  These  holidays  were  seasons  of  dread 
to  the  lad.  The  father  was  a  morose,  hard 
Calvinist,  who  ruled  his  household  as  would  a 
Puritan  in  Cromwell's  time.  Any  sort  of  pleasure, 
which  in  flais  house  was  called  levity,  profanity, 
and  godlessness,  was  strictly  suppressed.  Long 
prayers,  graces,  and  lectures  filled  every  spare 
moment,  and  if,  with  the  natural  instinct  of  a 
boy,  he  sang  or  whistled,  the  most  severe  floggings 
were  followed  by  deprivation  of  liberty  and  semi- 
starvation.  Consequently,  the  boy  was  only  too 
delighted  when  the  holidays  were  over  and  he 
could  return  to  school. 

When  his  father  removed  him  and  brought 
him  home  for  good,  matters  became  so  irksome 
and  life  such  a  burden  to  him  that  he  determined 
to  leave  a  home  which  religion  (so  mis-called)  made 
unbearable  to  him.  One  day,  his  father  went  to 
Cork  on  business,  and  took  the  lad  with  him. 
Whilst  there  he  received  letters  which  necessitated 
a  trip  to  London.  As  he  could  not  conveniently 
allow  the  boy  to  accompany  him,  he  engaged  a 
passage  for  him  in  some  small  sailing  craft  which 
was  going  to  Kingstown. 

During  the  passage  the  master  of  the  boat 
took  a  great  liking  for  the  boy,  and  on  the  latter 
telling  him  how  miserable  he  was  at  home,  and  of 


APPENDIX.  357 

his  determination  to  run  away,  he  promised  to  help 
him  to  a  berth  on  board  a  vessel  belonging  to  a 
friend  of  his.  On  arrival  at  his  destination  the 
boy  was  taken  on  board  a  small  brig  which  traded 
to  various  English  ports,  and  occasionally  to  the 
West  Indies. 

The  captain  of  this  vessel  agreed  to  take  him, 
and  in  a  few  days  he  was  at  sea  in  the  capacity 
of  captain's  boy.  He  received  very  fair  treatment, 
and  remained  in  fche  brig  till  she  was  sold  at  Jamaica. 

Having  by  this  time  acquired  a  fair  knowledge 
of  his  work,  he  shipped  in  a  vessel  for  New  Orleans, 
and  thence  went  to  Liverpool. 

From  this  place  he  wrote  to  his  father ;  but 
his  letter  was  returned  to  him  with  an  intimation 
from  this  Christian  gentleman  that  he  had  made  his 
own  bed,  and  for  the  future  must  lie  on  it.  After 
this  he  became  reckless.  He  often  determined  he 
would  go  to  a  nautical  school  and  try  and  pass 
for  second  mate,  but  that  resolution  was  never 
carried  out.  Each  time  that  he  returned  from  a 
voyage  his  money  was  spent  in  carousing  ashore, 
and  nothing  was  left  for  him  but  to  ship  before 
the  mast,  and  to-day  he  is  a  grizzled,  rough- 
looking  customer,  although  only  about  thirty-five 
years  of  age,  who,  but  for  the  stern,  unyielding 
discipline  of  his  father,  might  have  been  in 


358  THE  SHELLBACK 

command  of  a  ship,  but  was  now  condemned  to  pass 
the  remaining  years  of  his  life  in  the  forecastle. 

Thus  it  comes  to  pass  that  hundreds  of  sailors 
are  to  be  found  who,  given  the  opportunity,  would 
have  been  in  a  far  different  position  in  life. 

It  may  be  asked:  "Why  do  they  not  leave 
the  sea  and  get  a  living  on  shore?" 

The  reason  is  that  there  is  a  fascination  about 
the  sea,  and  about  ships,  which  always  draws  men 
back  to  the  salt  water,  almost  in  spite  of  them- 
selves. It  is  a  common  thing  to  hear  men  say 
that  "  this  is  their  last  voyage ;  once  ashore,  they 
will  never  go  to  sea  again  But  how  many  carry 
out  the  idea?  Few,  if  any.  Once  ashore,  all  the 
ills  of  the  past  are  swept  into  oblivion  by  the 
transient  joys  of  the  present,  and  Jack  only  remains 
on  shore  long  enough  to  spend  his  money,  when  he 
again  presents  himself  at  the  shipping  office  and 
cheerfully  enters  on  another  era  of  hard  work, 
hard  food,  and  hard  usage. 

When  I  contrast  the  life  of  seamen  on  board 
the  large  mail  steamers,  and  on  the  fine  boats  run- 
ning short  passages  between  the  different  colonies, 
with  that  of  long-voyage  men  in  deep-sea  sailing 
vessels,  I  wonder  how  it  is  that  men  can  be  found 
to  man  the  latter.  On  the  steamers  there  is  no 
laying  out  of  reef  topsails  on  roaring  black  nights, 


APPENDIX.  359 

no  boxing  the  yards  about  in  variable  winds,  no 
turning  out  night  after  night  from  a  warm  berth 
to  face  the  icy  blasts,  the  sleet  and  driving  rain 
of  North  Sea  or  Southern  Ocean  gale,  no  short 
commons,  hard  biscuit,  and  rotten  beef — none  of 
the  hundred  and  one  miseries  to  which  the  real 
sailor  is  subjected. 

I  say  "  real "  sailor  because  the  actual  business 
of  a  sailor  is  a  thing  of  the  past  since  huge 
floating  iron  palace-hotels  have  taken  the  place 
of  the  grand  old  clippers  of  former  days.  What 
can  sailors  do  with  ships  such  as  those  of  the 
Orient,  P.  and  0.,  and  British  India  Companies,  or 
with  those  of  the  Guion,  White  Star,  Cunard  or 
Messagcries  Companies  and  other  great  lines  of 
mail  boats,  when  a  propeller  shaft  breaks,  or  a 
propeller  is  broken  or  lost  ?  There  are  no-  spare 
spars  with  which  to  rig  jury  masts,  and  if  there 
were,  of  what  use  would  they  be  in  giving  even 
steerage  way  to  the  now  unwieldy  mass  of  iron 
whose  very  life  depends  on  its  engines  ?  A  crew 
of  engineers  and  blacksmiths  could  manage  the 
vessel  better  than  the  smartest  crew  of  sailors  that 
ever  slept  in  a  forecastle. 

No;  the  true  glory  of  the  sea — all  its  romance, 
all  its  terrors — will  have  departed  when  the  last 
sailing  vessel  shall  be  laid  up.  But  the  sea  will 


360  THE  SHELLBACK. 

still  provide  dangers  to  be  braved.  Steamers  take 
fire,  and  steamers  founder,  and,  indeed,  the  latter 
is  a  far  more  terribly  certain  calamity  when  a 
leak  occurs  on  a  large  steamer,  than  when  it 
happens  to  a  wooden  sailing  vessel  Let  a  hole 
be  torn  in  the  side  of  a  wooden  sailing  ship,  and 
under  favourable  circumstances  the  carpenter  can 
stop  the  leak,  or  sailors  will  thrum  a  mat  and 
pass  it  underneath,  when  the  indraught  sucks  it 
into  the  hole  and  gives  a  chance  to  keep  the 
vessel  afloat  by  pumping.  But  if  a  similar 
accident  occurs  to  an  iron  steamer,  even  when 
she  is  provided  with  water-tight  compartments,  a 
few  minutes,  at  most  a  few  hours,  often  decide  her 
fate,  and  not  seldom  that  of  passengers  and  crew. 

We  need  only  recall  the  terrible  wreck  of  the 
Quetlah,  RM.S.  of  the  British  India  line  a  few  years 
ago  on  the  Queensland  coast,  when  this  magnificent 
vessel  with  a  full  cargo,  a  large  complement  of 
passengers,  and  a  numerous  crew,  struck  on  a  rock 
in  Albany  Passage  and  went  down  in  deep  water 
in  three  minutes,  carrying  nearly  all  on  board  to 
the  bottom ;  of  the  s.s.  Gothenburg,  which  ran  on 
the  Barrier  Reef,  also  off  the  coast  of  Queensland, 
and  slipping  off,  sank  before  the  passengers 
were  aware  of  the  danger.  The  Singapore,  of  the 
E.  and  A.  Co.,  was  also  lost  in  like  manner,  in 


APPENDIX.  361 

sight  almost  of  the  townspeople  of  Mackay,  on  the 
same  coast. 

We  have  also  seen  how  the  most  magnificent 
ironclads,  with  all  their  wonderful  appliances  for 
safety,  can  be  sunk  in  a  few  minutes,  their  crews 
shut  up  like  rats  in  a  trap  in  the  cavernous  stoke- 
holes and  engine-rooms.  The  loss  of  life  on  such 
occasions  is  appalling. 

On  the  other  hand,  how  many  a  timber-ship 
wallows  across  the  North  Sea,  water-logged,  swept 
by  every  sea  that  surges  up  and  towers  over  her 
as  she  lies  sluggish  in  the  trough,  and  yet  manages 
to  reach  her  destination  in  safety  ? 

The  salvation  of  the  sailing  vessel  depends  on 
the  skill  and  cool  courage  of  the  captain  and 
officers,  and  on  the  seamanlike  qualities  and 
training  of  the  men.  These  avail  little  with  a 
semi-mastless  steamship.  If  the  engines  hold  out 
and  the  vessel  is  tight,  all  is  well;  but  let  any- 
thing go  wrong  with  the  former,  or  a  plate  or 
rivet  start  in  the  bottom  or  side,  then  no  seaman- 
ship, in  the  sense  of  managing  the  vessel,  is  of 
any  avail  Two  blacksmiths  and  a  diver  might 
patch  her  up  if  the  weather  were  calm,  but  no 
seaman  could  help  in  the  slightest  degree. 

I  remember  being  very  nearly  lost  in  a  large 
steamer  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  She  was  a  vessel 


302  THE  SHELLBACK. 

of  nearly  four  thousand  tons,  bound  for  Australia 
Whilst  crossing  the  Bay  the  weather  got  very 
bad.  All  day  the  barometer  had  given  indication 
of  worse  to  come.  Towards  evening  the  glass 
went  alarmingly  low,  and  by  10  p.m.  the  sea 
was  one  raging  roaring  mass  of  black  mountains 
capped  with  white  foam,  which  the  howling  gale 
tore  off  and  hurried  away  to  leeward.  The  inky 
blackness  of  the  sky  was  a  reflex  of  the  black- 
ness below,  and  it  was  impossible  to  tell  where 
the  sea  ended  and  sky  began.  The  ship  was 
deeply  laden,  and  crowded  with  passengers.  These 
latter  were  all  kept  below,  as  it  would  have  been 
impossible  for  any  landsman  to  have  held  on  on 
deck.  Every  few  minutes  the  ship  was  completely 
buried  in  the  hissing  cauldron.  At  such  times 
one  could  see  nothing  over  her  but  the  bridge, 
funnel,  masts,  and  some  of  the  boats.  All  the 
deck  was  completely  under  water.  It  soon  became 
impossible  to  stand  on  the  upper  bridge ;  in  fact,  I 
expected  to  see  it  carried  away  at  every  thundering 
blow  it  received  from  the  tremendous  seas  that 
burst  against  it.  Soon  two  of  the  boats  were  torn 
from  the  davits,  and  everything  loose  or  lashed 
was  swept  off  the  deck.  The  captain  told  me  to 
go  below  and  see  how  the  passengers  in  tho 
saloon  were  faring.  I  crawled  down  the  ladder 


APPENDIX.  363 

and,  watching  "a  chance,  opened  the  slide  of  the 
companion-way  and  went  below  The  noise  there 
was  something  to  terrify  any  landsman.  I  never 
imagined  an  iron  ship  could  creak  and  groan  so 
fearfully.  Of  course,  it  was  the  woodwork  which 
created  most  of  the  din,  but  it  was  a  worse 
chorus  than  I  had  ever  heard  before.  Added  to 
this  uproar  were  the  wailing  and  shrieking  of 
frightened  women  and  children,  and  the  cowardly 
exclamations  of  some  who  called  themselves  men 
There  was  a  dim  lamp  burning  in  the  saloon 
but  everyone  was  in  his  or  her  cabin.  To  re- 
assure them  I  sang  out  at  the  berth  doors  that 
the  barometer  was  rising  and  the  sea  would  soon  be 
going  down.  "  Thank  God ! "  I  heard  from  several 

"Then  is  there  no  danger  ?"   a  lady  asked. 

"  None  at  all/'  I  lied ;  "  nor  has  there  been  any. 
It's  all  this  groaning  and  creaking  and  crockery 
smashing  that  makes  you  think  the  ship's  over- 
board. She's  as  right  as  a  trivet." 

What  was  the  use  of  frightening  these  poor 
people  by  telling  them  the  real  state  of  the  case, 
which  was  that  the  captain  and  officers  expected 
the  ship  to  founder  within  two  hours  at  the  most, 
and  that  as  no  boats  could  live  in  such  a  furious 
sea,  or  be  even  launched  from  the  skids,  not  a 
soul  on  board  would  ever  touch  dry  land  again? 


364  THE  SHELLBACK. 

Besides  this,  we  had  already  lost  two  or  three 
boats,  so  there  would  not  have  been  room  for  half 
the  living  freight  if  they  could  have  been  got  over. 

Having  calmed  the  human  uproar  by  a  series 
of  stupendous  untruths,  I  again  went  on  the  bridge 
and  lay  down  alongside  the  captain,  standing  being 
impossible.  We  had  to  lay  our  heads  together 
and  shout  as  loudly  as  we  could  to  enable  each 
to  hear  what  the  other  said. 

"Did  you  ever  see  anything  worse  than  this, 
Boyd  ? "  asked  the  captain. 

"  Only  once,"  I  replied,  "  when  I  was  hove-to 
off  the  River  Plate  in  a  '  pampero '  in  a  sailing  vessel 
But  I  felt  safer  then  than  I  do  now." 

"Holy  frost!"  the  captain  exclaimed.  "Will 
she  come  up  again  or  go  over?" 

He  might  well  exclaim  as  he  did.  At  that 
moment  the  ship  had  taken  a  roll  to  windward, 
and  then  came  back  with  a  lee  roll  which  buried 
her  above  the  hatches.  She  seemed  about  to  turn 
turtle.  I  had  no  time  to  think  then  of  centres  of 
gravity,  but  looking  at  it  afterwards  it  struck  me 
that  the  ship  actually  was  over  the  centre  and 
about  to  turn  bottom  up,  when  a  tremendous  wave 
caught  her  amidships  on  the  lee  side  and  threw 
her  back  again.  Had  a  moderate  sea  struck  her 
port  side,  nothing  could  have  saved  her,  and  some 


APPENDIX.  365 

seven  hundred  souls  would  have  gone  to  their 
account. 

What  a  magnificent  sea  boat  she  was!  As  she 
came  back  she  shook  herself,  and  appeared  for  a 
little  while  entirely  above  water. 

We  breathed  again.  For  myself  I  had  clenched 
my  teeth  and  held  my  breath.  What  for,  I  don't 
know,  as  one  or  two  minutes  in  that  hell  of  waters 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  drown  a  man  effectually. 

"  Send  for  the  chief  engineer,"  said  the  captain. 

That  functionary  appeared. 

"Mr. ,  the  gale's  getting  worse.  I've  sent 

for  you  to  tell  you  I  mean  to  heave  the  ship  to." 

"  Heave  to,  sir  ! "  ejaculated  the  engineer.  "  Well 
all  I  can  say  is  that,  with  that  sea  on,  if  you  heave 
her  to  we  may  all  say  our  prayers.  My  boiler  stays 
have  started  already.  Once  get  her  in  the  trough 
of  that  sea  and  it'll  be  good-bye  to  the  boilers." 

"  I  command  this  ship,  Mr. ,"  the  captain 

replied,  "and  I  shall  do  what  I  think  necessary  to 
keep  her  afloat.  You  can  go  below  again." 

"  Very  well,  Captain ,"  said  the  engineer,  "  you 

will  do  as  you  please;  but  please  to  remember  that 
I  have  reported  the  state  of  the  boilers,  and  before 
these  gentlemen,"  pointing  to  us  who  were  with 
the  captain,  and  he  turned  and  went  below  to  the 
engine-room. 


366  THE  SHELLBACK. 

The  captain  consulted  with  the  chief  officer,  and  I 
went  to  have  another  look  at  the  saloon  passengers. 
Just  as  I  got  to  the  deck,  a  sea  tore  off  the  tarpaulin 
of  the  skylight  over  the  emigrant  girls'  quarters, 
and  lifting  one  of  the  flaps  of  the  skylight,  tons 
of  water  began  to  pour  into  her.  I  rushed  for  the 
carpenter,  and  he  and  four  men  waded  up  to  their 
waists  to  the  spot  with  hammers  and  canvas.  A  sea 
seized  the  carpenter  and  carried  him  up  on  to  a  deck 
house.  Had  it  not  been  for  his  striking  a  boat,  he 
would  have  been  swept  clean  overboard.  Terrible 
screams  issued  from  the  girls'  quarters,  but  the  men 
after  infinite  trouble,  succeeded  in  securing  the 
skylight.  In  the  saloon,  terror  had  again  seized 
the  people.  Many  had  been  thrown  out  of  their 
berths  by  that  fearful  roll.  But  there  was  not 
so  much  screaming;  they  seemed  resigned.  I  said 
nothing,  but  helped  myself  to  a  glass  of  grog 
and  crawled  back  to  the  bridge.  As  I  passed  the 
chart-room  I  looked  mechanically  at  the  barometer. 
"  Hallo  !  "  I  said ; "  why,  the  glass  is  rising ! " 
I  watched  for  a  little  time,  then  called  the  captain. 
He  looked  at  it,  and  became  quite  another  man. 
His  conference  with  the  mate  had  decided  him  not  to 
risk  heaving  to,  and  now  he  said  that  he  knew  it 
would  have  been  the  last  chance,  and  a  very  risky 
one  too. 


APPENDIX.  367 

It  was  surprising  to  see  how  quickly  the  gale 
broke.  Before  daylight,  stars  appeared,  and  by 
breakfast  time  the  ship  was  steaming  along  as  if 
nothing  had  happened. 

Now  what  could  sailors  have  done  in  this  case  ? 
Absolutely  nothing.  There  were  about  a  hundred 
Lascars  in  the  forecastle  who  were  too  frightened 
to  move.  One  of  the  engineers  had  to  stand  on 
guard  at  the  stokehole  hatch,  and  another  at  the 
engine  room,  armed  with  a  club,  to  keep  those 
curs  from  sneaking  down  into  the  stokehole,  and 
several  of  the  coloured  firemen  could  only  be  kept 
at  work  by  blows  and  threats. 

So  much  for  steamers,  black  crews,  and  black 
firemen. 

It  is,  however,  not  my  intention  to  descant  upon 
the  merits  or  demerits  of  alien  seamen.  My  object 
was  to  show  what  may  await  a  lad  on  the  threshold 
of  his  sea  life — not  with  any  idea  of  deterring  him 
rom  entering  the  profession,  but  merely  to  prepare 
him  to  find  a  different  state  of  things  from  what 
he  may  possibly  have  imagined  to  be  the  case  by 
reading  sensational  sea  stories,  in  which  merchant 
midshipmen  are  depicted  as  walking  the  quarter-deck 
in  uniform,  the  officers  as  being  all  day  in  uniform 
and  very  familiar  with  the  passengers,  the  anchor  as 
being  pulled  up  by  a  capstan,  merrily  spun  round 


368  THE  SHELLBACK. 

by  fifty  stout  fellows  in  tight  and  loose  trousers, 
and  pumps  to  the  tune  of  a  fiddle.  In  such  books 
sailors  have  a  fine  time  on  Saturday  night  drinking 
cans  of  grog  to  "  Sweethearts  and  Wives  " ;  Neptune 
and  his  court  come  on  board  on  the  Line;  games 
of  "  Sling  the  monkey,"  "  Tremble,"  and  drowning  the 
dead  horse  are  always  being  played  by  the  happy 
crew,  whilst  the  passengers  give  the  sailors  money, 
and  the  genial  captain  orders  extra  supplies  of  grog. 
This  is  all  rank  nonsense.  On  board  the  swift  mail 
steamers  which  make  rapid  passages  and  often  touch 
a  port  and  work  cargo  every  week,  there  is  no 
time  for  this  sky-larking.  Men  and  officers  have 
quite  enough  to  do  without  that,  and  when  a  spell 
does  occur  on  a  Saturday,  the  men  usually  start  a 
dance  among  themselves  to  the  strains  of  a  concertina. 

It  is  a  very  amusing  thing  to  watch  half-a-dozen 
couples  of  sailors  hugging  each  other  and  solemnly 
going  through  a  waltz — waltzing,  as  I  have  stated,  is 
their  favourite  dance.  I  never  saw  a  sailor  dance 
a  hornpipe  at  sea.  I  saw  it  danced  once,  but  that  was 
in  a  very  low  drinking  saloon  at  Leith,  and  the  per- 
former was  very  drunk,  and  was  continually  being 
pulled  to  the  ground  by  a  couple  of  drunken  women. 
The  spectacle  was  anything  but  edifying. 

Long- voyage  ships,  such  as  make  passages  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco,  or  Liverpool  to  Hong- 


APPENDIX.  369 

Kong,  are  often  too  short-handed,  and  the  crews 
too  hard-worked  to  admit  of  much  jollity.  There 
is  really  no  romance  about  the  sea  nowadays,  and 
there  are  not  many  sailors  who,  like  the  inimitable 
Clark  Russell,  can  appreciate  the  glorious  beauty 
of  a  magnificent  clipper-ship,  clothed  in  a  towering 
cloud  of  white  cotton  canvas,  sweeping  over  the 
seas  like  some  beautiful  creation  endowed  with  life. 
Still  fewer  can  see  any  beauty  in  the  hurricane,  or 
feel  any  religious  awe  at  the  dreadful  hush  that 
precedes  the  bursting  of  a  typhoon.  The  crashing 
of  thunder,  the  continued  blaze  of  forked  lightning, 
the  weird  look  of  St.  Elmo's  lights  at  the  yard-arm 
and  mastheads  are  to  the  majority  nothing  but  so 
many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  a  quick  passage,  and 
are  anathematised  accordingly.  The  only  effects 
are  to  make  the  skipper's  temper  unbearable,  the 
officers  sulky,  the  men  surly,  and  to  procure  for  the 
boys  what  is  known  as  "monkey's  allowance" — 
more  kicks  than  halfpence. 

But  there  is  still  the  same  old  spirit  abroad 
amongst  seafaring  men,  and  it  is  when  disaster 
overtakes  a  ship  that  their  British  pluck,  endurance, 
and  heroism  shine  out  in  their  full  effulgence, 
Every  week,  almost,  we  read  in  the  daily  papers  of 
acts  of  devotion  on  the  part  of  sailors,  engineers, 
and  firemen.  The  latter  often  lose  their  lives  by 


37O  THE  SHELLBACK. 

courageously  sticking  to  their  posts  deep  in  the 
bowels  of  the  ship,  whence  there  is  no  escape  il 
the  vessel  suddenly  goes  down.  The  only  alleged 
instance  which  has  of  late  come  under  my  notice 
of  officers  and  seamen  of  a  British  ship  failing 
in  their  duty  was  in  the  disastrous  wreck  of  the 
Union  Steamship  Company's  steamer  Wairarapa 
on  the  Barrier  Island,  off  the  New  Zealand  coast. 

In  this  case,  for  some  reason  attributed  to  fever, 
from  which  he  was  recovering,  the  captain,  in  a 
dense  fog,  refused  to  slow  down  or  allow  the  usual 
signals  to  be  made,  such  as  blowing  the  fog-horn, 
etc.  The  result  was  that  the  ship  went  on  to  the 
rocks,  and  after  she  struck  it  is  publicly  stated 
that  only  one  officer — the  third — behaved  like  a 
hero;  the  rest  and  the  sailors  did  nothing,  the 
engineers  and  firemen  alone,  by  their  courageous 
conduct,  maintaining  the  prestige  of  the  British 
seaman. 

When  the  steamship  Gothenburg,  which  I  men- 
tioned as  having  been  lost  on  the  Great  Barrier 
Beef,  went  down,  the  engineers  and  firemen  were 
drowned,  shut  up  below  like  rats.  But  such 
cases  are  usually  passed  over  with  only  a  news- 
paragraph  to  record  the  heroism  of  the  noble 
fellows. 

I    happened  to    be  in  Townsville  at    the  time 


APPENDIX.  371 

the  latter  wreck  occurred,  and  was  asked  to  make 
one  of  a  party  who  went  out  in  a  small  Govern- 
ment steamer  to  search  for  survivors.  The  scene 
of  the  wreck  was  about  fifty  miles  east  of  Bowen, 
on  the  north-east  coast  of  Queensland,  and  to 
reach  it,  it  was  necessary  to  steam  over  several 
dozen  miles  of  unsurveyed  waters,  bristling  with 
coral  reefs.  Of  course,  a  good  look-out  was  kept 
forward.  The  water  was  marvellously  clear,  and, 
fortunately,  the  day  was  calm,  or  our  boat  must 
infallibly  have  struck  upon  one  of  the  numberless 
masses  of  coral  which  strewed  the  ocean  floor. 
Viewed  through  the  clear  fluid,  they  looked  like 
gigantic  toadstools,  and  so  deceptive  was  the  depth 
that  I  several  times  held  my  breath,  expecting  the 
vessel  to  strike  on  a  mass  that  seemed  to  be 
within  a  foot  or  two  of  the  surface  when  in  reality 
there  were  twenty  feet  of  water  over  it.  Altogether 
it  was  a  very  risky  passage,  and  I  was  heartily  glad 
when,  after  some  six  hours'  steaming,  we  sighted 
the  ship's  masts  and  jibboom  showing  above  the 
surface  of  the  sea.  What  a  desolate  place  is  this 
Great  Barrier  Reef!  For  miles  to  the  northward 
and  miles  to  the  southward  nothing  is  to  be  seen 
but  a  wide  expanse  of  green,  shallow  water,  with 
here  and  there  a  mass  of  broken  coral,  thrown  up 
into  a  hillock  by  the  action  of  the  sea  Over  this 


372  THE  SHELLBACK. 

reef,  which  lies  perfectly  level,  except  for  the  coral 
heaps  noticed,  the  vast  billows  of  the  South  Pacific 
come  rolling  irresistibly  along,  pausing  to  hurl 
themselves  against  the  sea-face,  where  a  constant, 
thundering  roar  is  heard,  which  is  defined  by  the 
first  line  of  white  breakers.  The  shallow  water 
on  the  reef  has  a  cold,  green  look  about  it  which 
adds  to  the  awful  desolation  of  the  scene.  When 
we  came  to  anchor  we  found  another  terrible 
element  in  these  solitudes — sharks. 

I  never  saw  so  many  ground-sharks  and  tiger- 
sharks  as  were  gathered  here.  They  were  probably 
attracted  by  the  great  feast  that  was  provided  for 
them  by  the  unfortunate  victims  of  the  wreck, 
They  sailed  past  the  steamer,  turning  their  cruel 
eyes  upwards  as  if  they  scented  further  prey.  It 
seems  absurd  to  say  that  one  of  the  brutes 
swimming  close  to  the  surface,  distinctly  winked 
at  us.  It  was  so  ludicrous  that  I  called  a  friend's 
attention  to  it.  He  also  saw  the  wink  It  seemed 
as  if  the  creature  said :  "  Yes,  I'm  waiting  for  you, 
just  come  down  here  for  a  moment."  I  afterwards 
found  that  sharks  every  now  and  then  clear  their 
eyes  by  means  of  a  membrane  which  rapidly 
sweeps  them,  giving  the  semblance  of  a  wink. 

We  soon  had  a  boat  over  the  side,  and  pulled 
towards  the  wreck.  When  we  reached  her  we  could 


APPENDIX.  373 

clearly  see  the  whole  of  her  deck  at  a  depth  of  about 
sixteen  feet.  She  was  lying  on  a  shelf  of  the  reef  in 
an  upright  position.  Above  the  skylights  the  calm 
surface  of  the  water  was  covered  with  a  greasy  film, 
which  too  well  proclaimed  the  presence  of  dead 
bodies  in  the  cabins  and  in  the  stoke-hole.  On  the 
after-deck  lay  a  box  which  had  apparently  burst  its 
way  out  of  the  captain's  cabin.  This  box  contained 
gold  which  had  been  put  on  board  at  Port  Darwin. 
I  at  once  suggested  the  feasibility  of  recovering  it  by 
making  a  large  windsail  of  one  of  the  sails  and  sink- 
ing it  by  weights  on  to  the  deck.  This  would  -render 
that  part  of  the  deck  safe  from  sharks.  It  would 
then  have  been  an  easy  matter  to  go  down  and  pass 
lines  round  the  box  and  bring  it  to  the  surface.  I 
offered  to  do  the  business  myself,  but  the  Government 
red-tapists  would  not  agree  to  the  proposal,  and  thus 
our  captain  and  crew  lost  a  grand  piece  of  salvage. 
The  gold  was  afterwards  recovered  by  Captain 
Phillips,  of  the  A.  S.  N.  steamer  Florence  Irving.  He 
engaged  a  diver  named  Putman,  in  Sydney,  placed 
him  at  the  wreck  with  a  boat  and  a  crew,  and  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  after  he  had  started  operations  he 
recovered  the  gold.  I  believe  the  box  contained 
eight  thousand  pounds1  worth,  of  which  Captain 
Phillips  obtained  the  lion's  share.  It  was,  however, 
nearly  lost  entirely,  for  Putman,  tired  of  waiting  for 


374  THE  SHELLBACK. 

the  return  of  the  steamer  from  Cooktown,  started  in 
his  boat  for  Bowen,  taking  the  gold  with  him.  The 
boat  leaked  badly,  and  it  was  blowing  too  freshly  for 
such  a  craft.  He  had  to  bale  for  his  life,  and  was 
just  about  to  throw  the  box  overboard  when  the 
Leichhardt  steamer  hove  in  sight  and  rescued  him. 

Finding  that  nothing  was  to  be  done  about  the 
gold  box,  we  climbed  into  the  fore  rigging,  and  found 
that  some  of  the  people  must  have  taken  refuge  there 
from  the  heavy  seas  which  broke  over  the  ship  below. 
They  had  evidently  lashed  themselves  to  the  rigging 
with  tablecloths,  as  the  remains  of  these,  torn  to 
ribbons,  were  fluttering  in  the  breeze. 

There  being  no  sign  of  any  living  thing  about 
the  wreck,  we  regained  the  boat,  and  just  as  we 
passed  the  bowsprit  a  swollen  body  rose  from  under 
it.  It  was  a  most  gruesome  sight.  As  it  rose 
above  the  surface  it  kept  an  upright  position,  quite 
half  the  body  standing  above  the  water.  Then  the 
arms  fell  forward,  arid  the  huge  swollen  mass  floated 
on  the  surface.  The  body  was  perfectly  nude,  and 
a  canvas  belt  round  the  waist  showed  that  the 
man  had  prepared  himself  for  a  swim,  and  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  sew  his  valuables  into  the 
belt.  We  pulled  alongside,  and  took  off  the  belt. 
It  was  an  unpleasant  business,  the  body  being 
terribly  decomposed.  No  result  rewarded  our  search 


APPENDIX.  375 

for  any  possible  marks  by  which  the  body  might 
be  identified,  There  was  nothing  to  give  any  clue 
to  his  identity,  nor  was  there  a  scrap  of  writing  in 
his  belt,  which  held  nearly  two  hundred  English 
Scottish,  and  Australian  Chartered  Bank  notes.  As 
there  was  no  dry  land  where  the  body  could  be 
decently  buried,  we  were  fain  to  let  it  drift  away, 
and  it  was  not  two  boats*  length  from  us  when 
the  sharks  dashed  at  it.  These  huge  brutes  tore  it 
limb  from  limb,  and  we  could  hear  the  cracking 
of  the  bones  as  they  severed  the  head  and  limbs 
from  the  body.  It  was  a  horrible  sight,  and  gave 
us  a  realistic  idea  of  what  would  happen  to  any 
of  us  who  might  fall  overboard. 

Leaving  the  scene  of  the  wreck,  we  steered  for 
Holborn  Island,  about  twenty  miles  distant,  and 
there  had  the  happiness  of  rescuing  four  men  who 
had  succeeded  in  getting  away  from  the  wreck 
with  a  boat,  into  which  the  ship's  mails  had  been 
thrown.  The  boat  was  stove  in  on  landing,  and 
they  had  lived  here  for  several  days,  supporting 
life  on  bird's  eggs,  which  were  very  plentiful  Water 
they  had  in  abundance.  We  took  them  and  the 
mail-bags  on  board,  and  then  made  a  systematic 
search  along  the  coast,  calling  at  Whitsunday  Island, 
where  we  took  up  two  native  blacks  who  had  come 
out  in  a  bark  canoe.  These  men  told  us  they  had 


376  THE  SHELLBACK. 

seen  "Whitefellow  canoe  'longa  beach."  Guided 
by  their  statement,  we  steamed  across  to  a  long, 
white,  sandy  beach  on  the  mainland,  and  found 
that  the  boat  they  had  seen  was  one  belonging  to 
another  search  party  from  Bowen. 

Giving  the  blacks  some  bread  and  tobacco,  we 
dropped  them  overboard,  and  they  paddled  off  to 
their  island  again.  One  man,  when  the  diver  left 
with  the  gold  for  the  mainland,  remained  on  the 
wreck  in  a  nest  he  made  in  the  foretop.  There  he 
fished  for  sharks  by  noosing  them.  He  caught 
several,  and  on  opening  them  recovered  a  quantity 
of  rings,  watches,  and  money. 

With  this  story,  which  is  yet  fresh  in  the 
memory  of  Australians,  I  close  my  reminiscences, 
in  the  hope  that  what  I  have  written  may 
not  have  the  effect  of  deterring  young  lads  from 
taking  to  the  sea,  and  in  the  further  hope  that 
it  may  induce  shipowners  to  take  a  more  Ihely 
interest  in  those  hardy  men  to  whose  devoted 
services  they  owe  the  safety  of  their  ships  and  the 
building  up  of  the  commercial  greatness  of  the 
country. 

THE  END. 


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